Warriors: Time To Kill
by Nitrogen DS
Summary: Nettlepaw and his brother Skypaw are young apprentices growing up in a future ThunderClan. Tension is high, and battles between Clans become all too common. When worse comes to worse, can ThunderClan count on anyone to save them from total destruction?
1. Allegiances

**Allegiances**

**ThunderClan**

**Leader: **Kestrelstar – brown tabby tom with amber eyes

**Deputy: **Lightningtail – black she-cat with a white tail

(apprentice: Redpaw)

**Medicine Cat: **Rainheart – gray tom with green eyes

**Warriors: **_(toms and she-cats without kits)_

Stoneclaw – broad-shouldered gray tabby tom with yellow eyes

Torntail – calico tom with blue eyes

(apprentice: Nettlepaw)

Silvercloud – silver colored she-cat

Thrushfeather – ginger she-cat with green eyes

(apprentice: Echopaw)

Oakpelt – light brown tabby tom

Sootclaw – black she-cat with amber eyes

(apprentice: Skypaw)

Sloeberry – sleek black and white tom

Duskpool – brown tabby tom with blue eyes

Spottedflower – calico she-cat

**Apprentices: **_(more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)_

Echopaw – small brown tabby she-cat

Nettlepaw – ginger tabby tom

Skypaw – gray tom with green eyes

Redpaw – red tabby tom with blue eyes

**Queens: **_(she-cats expecting or nursing kits)_

Whitefeather – white she-cat, mother of Pouncekit, Sunkit, and Petalkit

**Elders: **_(former warriors and queens, now retired)_

Hollyleaf – black she-cat, oldest in the Clan

Foxcatcher – reddish tabby tom

**ShadowClan**

**Leader: **Hollowstar – dark ginger she-cat with green eyes

**Deputy: **Hawkeye – black she-cat

**Medicine Cat: **Lizardtail – dark brown tabby tom

(apprentice: Longpaw)

**Warriors:**

Applewhisker – tortoiseshell she-cat with gray eyes

Beetlestripe – dark gray tabby tom

(apprentice: Jaggedpaw)

Marshwing – black tom

(apprentice: Mothpaw)

Brackenwhisker – small tabby she-cat

Spidereyes – white tom with black paws

Icebelly - dark brown she-cat with a white underbelly

**Queens:**

Brightfur – white she-cat, mother of Tawnykit and Herbkit

Goldenfang – ginger she-cat, mother of Eaglekit

**Elders:**

Owlhoot – old brown tom

**WindClan**

**Leader: **Harestar – old brown and white tom

**Deputy: **Flamewing – ginger tabby tom with blue eyes

**Medicine Cat: **Robinflight – black she-cat

(apprentice: Bramblepaw)

**Warriors:**

Thistletail – light brown tabby tom

Blackleaf – black she-cat

(apprentice: Fernpaw)

Seedfoot – white and black she-cat

Crookedleg – gray tom

Hazelfeather – pale gray she-cat with amber eyes

(apprentice: Ravenpaw)

Runningfoot - tabby she-cat

**Queens: **

Talonbird – brown tabby she-cat, mother of Juniperkit, Splashkit, Honeykit, and Featherkit

**Elders:**

Breezepelt – grumpy old black tom

Palebelly – pale ginger tom

**RiverClan**

**Leader: **Reedstar – dark gray she-cat

**Deputy: **Fastbrook – light brown tom

(apprentice: Coalpaw)

**Medicine Cat: **Pebbletooth – pale gray tom

(apprentice: Ashpaw)

**Warriors:**

Turtlefoot – mottled dark gray she-cat

Leafspots – ginger she-cat

Crowheart – black tom

(apprentice: Willowpaw)

Graystorm – dark gray she-cat

Smallwhisker – tabby tom with green eyes

Birchtail - light brown tom

**Elders:**

Grassfur – small gray tabby tom

**Cats Outside Clans**

Fleck – dappled she-cat

Willy – plump black and white tom

Marco – tabby tom

Todd – orange-red tom with blue eyes


	2. Chapter One

**Chapter One**

It was a dark and gloomy day, with clouds hung down low over the forest. In the distance, there was a soft rumble of thunder, and rain began to fall, drenching everything it could reach. Down on the ground, a gray tabby cat stood, chest puffed out in a proud manner, yellow eyes wide and bright as he stepped into the nursery, shaking his paws to rid them of water. Laying down on the moss in the corner of the dark, sheltered from the downpour, was a ginger she-cat, green eyes half closed as she kneaded the ground with her paws. Down by her side were two small bundles of fur, suckling quietly.

"Thrushfeather," the tom meowed softly, keeping his voice as low as he could so that he wouldn't disturb the other queens and their kits. "Silvercloud just came and told me – how are they?"

She looked up at him and purred. "They're doing just fine, Stoneclaw. Rainheart says they're as healthy as they can be," she replied, her tail flicking lightly as she spoke to her mate. "Would you like to hear their names?"

He buried his nose into her flank and sighed. "I sure would."

Thrushfeather weakly pushed herself to her paws. The kits made small squeaks of protest as they were detached from their mother's breast. She nosed the biggest of the two, a solid gray kitten with darker ears. "This is Skykit, he was the first born of the two," she meowed, giving her kit a swift lick on the head to calm him down. She then pressed her muzzle against the back of a ginger tabby kit, making it squeak with delight. "And this is Nettlekit, he's the youngest, of course, but a big eater nonetheless."

Stoneclaw's eyes glimmered with pride as he looked at his offspring. He then turned around and pulled a juicy cicada from behind himself and nudged it towards his mate. "I found this for you while we were out hunting earlier today, here," he purred.

She looked at him gratefully and took a bite out of the delicious bug, savoring it's taste. The bug was filled with all sorts of good things that would help her regain her energy and strength. She smiled at her mate and give him a lick on the cheek before laying back down and letting her kits return to her side to suckle. "They'll grow up to be fine warriors."

_Seven moons later..._

"Come on, Nettlepaw," came a meow that sounded like the tinkling of a tiny bell. A small tabby she-cat stood on top of one of the rocks down by the lake, the sunlight hitting her fur and making it glow like embers. Down the hill lumbered a particularly chubby-looking ginger apprentice, who clumsily tripped over a stone and was sent tumbling down into the very rock his friend stood upon. She was startled, and jumped off, fur bristling and tail puffed out. She breathed a sigh of relief and her fur flattened as she padded up to the pudgy apprentice, nosing him on the shoulder.

"Are you alright?" she mewed.

Nettlepaw's vision was somewhat blurry for a moment, and he thought he was seeing two cats leaning over him. Eventually that sensation passed and he pushed himself to his paws, shaking the dirt that had collected on his coat off. "Yeah, I'm good," he replied at last.

She let out an amused _meow-rr_ of laughter and playfully batted him on the ear. All of the sudden they heard a harsh meow from up at the top of the hill. They turned their heads to see a red tabby apprentice with an unruly thick coat, laughing so hard they thought he might fall over. Nettlepaw's ears flattened as he looked to his friend. "Redpaw," he huffed. "He's here to ruin our fun again!"

"Hey Echopaw, are you hanging out with the fat, little Nettle_kit _again?" Redpaw yowled, sporting a wry smile as he watched the two.

"No, Redpaw," Echopaw replied loudly, voice laced with sarcasm. "I'm actually playing with Nettle_paw_."

Nettlepaw narrowed his eyes, squinting to see the figure of Redpaw standing against the sunlight, the bright rays illuminating his tabby pelt. He was seething with anger as the older apprentice teased him. He dug his small claws into the ground, wanting to tear Redpaw's fur out.

Echopaw could tell Nettlepaw was upset, she brushed her tail against his side and meowed quietly, "don't let him get to you, he's just a bully."

But Nettlepaw wasn't listening, he lumbered towards the hill, going as fast as his thick legs would carry him. He then dropped into hunter's crouch when he was close enough to Redpaw and jumped. He landed just shy of his goal, and landed with a _plop _in a puddle of mud. This only made Redpaw laugh even harder. Echopaw rushed up the hill to help her poor, hapless friend. Nettlepaw was coated with a thick layer of gooey muck, which dripped down his ginger pelt slowly. He looked terribly hurt, not psychically of course, but emotionally.

"Aww, did the little kit fall down into the puddle? Is he gonna cry for his mommy now?" Redpaw teased, approaching the two other apprentices with a smug look on his face. "Why do you even want to be around this mousebrained furball, Echopaw? I mean, really, he's just a loser. Why don't you come play with Skypaw and I? Besides, playing with a pile of fox_dung _like Nettlepaw makes _you _a loser as well."

Echopaw had her pride, and she didn't want all the others to think of her as being a mousebrained loser. She glanced over at the mud-covered Nettlepaw and shook her head. Reluctantly, she decided to follow Redpaw, leaving Nettlepaw alone and soaking.

"Wait! I don't know how to get back to camp from here!" the plump apprentice wailed, crawling out of the puddle and waddling as fast as he could go, trying to catch up with the other two. They disappeared into the woods, and he was already out of breath and panting from his attempt to pounce on Redpaw, so he couldn't follow them fast enough. "Wait..."

All of the sudden he felt drops from the sky. It had started to rain. Could this day get any worse? Nettlepaw sure didn't think so. Slowly he began making his way in what he hoped to be the direction of the ThunderClan camp. He brushed his way past some ferns as the mud washed off of his pelt -- at least there was something good that came of being caught out in the middle of a storm. He looked up at the clouded sky, but turned away as soon as a large splash of water landed in his eye. All of the sudden he heard some squawking noises coming from bushes. It sounded like a particularly large bird. If he could catch it and bring it back to his Clan, maybe Redpaw wouldn't think he was a loser anymore.

He moved towards the sound, and through a break in the leaves he could see it, a large white bird with long legs, strutting around in the puddle, dipping down every once in a while to get its feathers wet. As he stalked it, Nettlepaw's mind began to wander:

_Nettlepaw would strut into camp, head held high and chest puffed out as he carried his catch-of-the-day. The Clan members would be cheering for him, and the elders would say that in all their days they'd never seen a bird as big as that. All the warriors would praise him, and the leader and deputy, too! Even nasty ol' Redpaw would admit he'd never be able to catch a bird as big as that..._

_**SQUAWK!**_

Nettlepaw had pounced, but all he had caught was a mouthful of tailfeathers. The bird danced around him, indignantly looking at its mangled tail. It let out an angry cry and pecked Nettlepaw right on the muzzle, giving him a swelling sore the size of a blackberry. Nettlepaw cried out in pain and scrambled into the bushes, collapsing on the ground with his paws over his nose. The wound was throbbing and it hurt so badly. He shut his eyes and mewled sadly, wanting desperately to get back to his camp.

"I want Thrushfeather," he cried.

--

Skypaw tussled in the mud with Redpaw, purring delightfully as he pinned the older apprentice onto the ground. "Ha! Beat you again, Redpaw!" he meowed, licking his muzzle. Redpaw tried to hide his utter disappointment in his own defeat and purred with laughter.

"Yeah, good game, Skypaw. You won fair and square!" he meowed, his icy blue eyes glinting with the agony of defeat. He turned away from Echopaw and Skypaw, lip curling as he dug his claws into the ground. He was older than Skypaw, therefore _he _should be the superior fighter.

"Hey, where's Nettlepaw?" Skypaw asked all the sudden, looking around. "He went out earlier, and I haven't seen him since."

"I don't know," Redpaw meowed. "Why should you even care? It's not like you're your brother's keeper. That badger-thick _kit_ will be fine, don't worry about him."

Skypaw looked a little hesitant at first, but then flicked his tail. "Yeah, I suppose you're right," he meowed at last. "After all, you'd know best."

Redpaw was pleased to hear that Skypaw thought so. He stood a little bit straighter and prouder, tail straight up in the air. The rain was still pouring down hard on all of them, making their pelts stick to their bodies. "What are we going to play now?" asked Echopaw, shaking her back leg to rid it of moisture, if only for a moment. All of the sudden they heard a deep voice from behind them, which made their pelts prickle with surprise.

"Who wants to go on a hunting patrol with me?" rumbled Oakpelt as he walked up to them.

"You scared us, Oakpelt!" gasped Echopaw, taking a moment to catch her breath. "But sure, I want to go!"

"Me too!" meowed Redpaw and Skypaw.

"Where's Nettlepaw? He told me earlier today that he'd like to go on patrol..."

The apprentices looked at each other, and then back to Oakpelt. "We don't know," Echopaw meowed. "I was playing down by the lake with him earlier. That's the last we've seen of him."

"Ah, well, it's a shame he'll miss out," Oakpelt sighed. "Alright, Lightningtail and Sloeberry are waiting for us, we should be going."

They headed out of camp and into the damp woods, their paws sinking into the softened ground. In the air came the smell of a vole. Redpaw dropped into hunters crouch and crawled, belly to the ground, until he had it in his sights. He then jumped and landed squarely on top of it, breaking it's neck. It let out a dying squeak and he returned to the patrol with the catch in his jaws.

"Great work, Redpaw," Lightningtail praised, looking at her apprentice proudly. "You're an excellent hunter."

Echopaw turned her head, hearing branches crack near her. She dropped down and leaped, her claws fixing into something lumpy. The thing she had pounced on yowled and struggled, wriggling until she let go of it.

"Nettlepaw?" she meowed questioningly, tilting her head as she stood back to get a clear view of the soggy ginger tabby.

The other cats on patrol walked over, Redpaw first and foremost, dropping his prey onto the ground and quickly covering it with mud to save for later. "Well, if it isn't bear-belly himself," he sneered. Lightningtail glared at him and he shrunk back between Sloeberry and Oakpelt. "Look at his nose, it's as red as a berry!" he added as soon as he was out of his mentor's earshot.

Nettlepaw was shivering, looking back and forth at the patrol. "Thank StarClan you've found me!"

--

Echopaw padded into camp, Nettlepaw following close behind her, still shaking from fear and chill. They walked over to the medicine cat's den. Rainheart was crouched down, tail curled around his paws. He looked at the two apprentices back and forth and blinked in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Rainheart asked, ears twitching back and forth.

Nettlepaw tottered up to the medicine cat and lifted his head to show the peck wound on his nose. It was still hurting, not as much as before, but still enough to make him cry out when the medicine cat gave it a quick lick.

"I'll get some dock to put on this," the gray medicine cat meowed, walking slowly over to his supplies. Nettlepaw could have sworn he could hear the old cat's bones creaking as he walked. He turned around to share his thoughts with Echopaw, but found she had already left. He sadly stared at the den entrance, hoping she'd come back, but it was clear she wouldn't. After all, she had more important things to do, like hunting to feed the Clan.

Rainheart slowly lifted his head from chewing the leaves into a pulp. He then applied the herb to the wound on Nettlepaw's nose. "I should probably get some chervil to prevent an infection," Rainheart meowed, once again going back to his supplies to search.

_This is going to take moons!_ Nettlepaw thought.

"Rainheart, could you possibly hurry? I want to catch up with the hunting patrol!" he meowed as politely as possible.

The old medicine cat only looked in his direction briefly before returning to looking for chervil. "He couldn't catch up with the patrol now if he tried," Rainheart sighed to himself.

Nettlepaw sat down hard, making his back legs splay out awkwardly. He let out a squeak of pain. He had sat down on his own tail and couldn't get up. He tried to look as composed as possible as Rainheart approached him with the chervil to put on his nose. He couldn't manage to push himself up and off his tail.

"_Mrew_," he cried softly.

Rainheart finished applying the chervil, and noticing that Nettlepaw was hurting himself, pushed the ginger colored apprentice to his paws. "Thanks!" he meowed as he lumbered out of the medicine cat den.

Nettlepaw's whiskers drooped and he looked dismayed as he saw the patrol returning with their mouths full of prey. The warriors walked over to the fresh kill pile and dropped their catches there, while the apprentices ran off to feed the elders and queens. Nettlepaw sadly turned around, ready to head back to the apprentice den.

"Nettlepaw, do you mind cleaning the ticks off of Hollyleaf and Foxcatcher?" Oakpelt meowed, padding up to him.

"Sure thing, Oakpelt," he sighed as he turned around and walked into Rainheart's den to pick up some mouse bile.


	3. Chapter Two

**Chapter Two**

Nettlepaw had accidentally swallowed a bit of mouse bile whilst cleaning ticks off the elders. It left a terribly bitter taste in his mouth which made him want to gag. He went to wash his paws in one of the deep puddles left by the rain. It had been a particularly damp season for the Clans, which was bad for RiverClan, of course, because they lived by the water and their camp would most likely be flooded. It was growing late in the day, and soon it would be time for the evening patrol to head out, if they hadn't already. If he was lucky, he might be chosen to go along with them, but first he had to find Oakpelt and ask if they were still in the camp.

"Hey, badger-belly, does your wittle nose still hurt?" came a mocking meow. It was obviously the fox-hearted Redpaw, Nettlepaw knew his scornful voice anywhere.

"What do you want, Redpaw?" he asked, lumbering past the nursery, peering in to see Whitefeather's three kits. They would be apprentices soon, so may he'd have a chance at getting a friend.

"Oh, nothing much, I was just wondering if you'd like to go on the sunset patrol with some of the warriors. They're all waiting down by the lakeside, I told them I'd let you take my place on the patrol since I got to go out hunting earlier," Redpaw meowed, following Nettlepaw as he passed the nursery. The chubby apprentice turned around, eyes wide and filled with joy.

"Really, Redpaw?! Thanks!" he said, hobbling as fast as he could out of the camp and into the woods. Sootclaw, one of the clan's senior warriors, walked up to him. "Where has Nettlepaw gone in such a hurry?"

"Oh, just to make dirt," Redpaw said, rolling his shoulders back and stretching before heading over to the freshkill pile.

It was growing dark and foggy outside, and Nettlepaw could hardly see anything through the thick fog. The fact that his nose was still swollen and he couldn't scent anything didn't help either. He ducked down under a fern and squinted, looking back and forth but not seeing anything but white. His ears flicked, he could just barely hear the sound of waves washing up on the lake beach. He couldn't hear any other cats around, but he walked on. He heard a _squish _noise as he stepped into a bit of gooey mud.

Nettlepaw pulled his paw back, startled by the sudden change in ground. He hesitated before continuing forward, stumbling and tripping through the increasingly deep mud. Eventually, the mud started to get so sticky that he could barely pull his paws up out of the ground to take another step. His weight was causing him to sink lower into the mud! He struggled around a little bit, letting out cries of exasperation. All of the sudden a wave came over him, filling his nostrils and mouth with water. He choked and shook his head, sputtering and gasping.

Not only was he stuck in mud, but he was stuck right next to the lake! He wriggled around a little bit more, desperately trying to free himself. "Help!" he cried. "Help me!" But there was no one there to help. As far as the ThunderClan cats knew, he was out making dirt.

--

Skypaw crouched over his piece of fresh kill, gnawing at it hungrily and swallowing big chunks of flesh. He could feel Echopaw's pelt brushing up against his, but he didn't bother to greet her, any words he'd say would come out rather muddled anyway due to his full mouth. He sneezed slightly as a bit of vole fur went up his nostrils. Redpaw was nearby, flicking his bushy tail back and forth and looking around nervously.

"Why are you so tense, Redpaw?" Echopaw asked, her sweet voice seeming to relax the uptight apprentice's prickled fur.

"No reason," he replied. Echopaw, of course, didn't believe him, but she didn't say anything about that either. She brushed her tail up against his side and he shivered slightly. "If there's anything you need to tell me, don't hesitate."

"It's nothing, really."

But in truth, he was wondering where Nettlepaw was. The tabby apprentice had yet to return from his trip to the lake. He'd hoped that Nettlepaw would go there, figure out it was a prank, and promptly come back. But it was getting dark outside, and there was still no sign of the plump, ginger cat. If something had happened to Nettlepaw, and the Clan found out it was he who'd tricked the young apprentice into going down to the lake in the fog, he might be prevented from ever becoming a warrior – or worse, he might be banished!

_I've got to find him before someone notices he's gone!_

Redpaw jumped up and ran out of the camp, leaving Echopaw and Skypaw looked baffled as he vanished into the forest. "He must've eaten a bad mouse or something."

The long-furred apprentice jumping over obstacles, relying on his sense of smell more than his sight. Fog was everywhere, and the sky was darkening quickly. He could smell the bitter smell of plants rotting in water somewhere nearby, and he knew he was growing closer to the lake. He walked out of the forest and squinted, padding down towards the sound of waves against the beach. "Nettlepaw? Where are you, you bumblebrain?!" he called.

"Over here!" came an anxious reply. Nettlepaw was sinking, his mouth filling with mud, and every time he struggled it only made him sink further. "I'm sinking!"

Redpaw ran to the sound of Nettlepaw's voice, and stopped just at the edge of the mud. Through the fog he could barely make out the pudgy shape of the slowly sinking apprentice. _One would think he'd float, _Redpaw thought.

"What happened to you?"

"Just get me out! I'm going to die!"

"This is going to be a chore," snorted Redpaw, moving his way carefully towards Nettlepaw, trying to avoid getting himself stuck as well. He assessed the situation, and narrowed his eyes. "I'm going to have to go back to the woods to get a stick or something, try to keep your big mouth above the mud."

"Make sure you come back!" Nettlepaw gasped.

Redpaw just rolled his eyes and went back into the forest to find a branch. Nettlepaw was left, trying to keep himself from sinking down into the mudpit. Redpaw returned, holding a long stick, trying to keep himself from gagging on it as he came down the hill. He moved it towards Nettlepaw and spoke around the object, "grag ut," he meowed in a muffled voice.

Nettlepaw got the message, and bit the end of the stick, holding on tight. Redpaw pulled back, but Nettlepaw was very heavy, and it was almost impossible to budge him. "You're a stupid furball for getting yourself stuck in this mess!" Redpaw growled, spitting the stick out onto the ground.

"Where are the patrol, they have to be nearby, you said they'd be down here!" Nettlepaw mewled, struggling to keep his head above the muck.

"I've got news for you, badger-belly, I lied. Here, grab the stick again, and try to lean towards me this time so that I can pull you out! If you don't do your part, you're going to die, so work with me here!"

Redpaw picked up the stick and extended it towards Nettlepaw, who grabbed onto it as tight as possible and began to learn forward just as Redpaw had suggested. Slowly but surely, he began to budge, until finally he came out of the mud with a _pop _and landed on top of a very disgruntled-looking Redpaw.

"You saved me!" Nettlepaw exclaimed.

Redpaw looked at him with disgust. "I'm kind of sorry I did because now I've got your furry bottom in my face!"

"I'm sorry, Redpaw."

"Whatever. Let's just get back to the camp now, you need to get cleaned up. I don't think Kestrelstar's going to be too happy, though. I mean, two incidents in one day? At this rate, you won't get your warrior name _ever_. Not that you're going to get one anytime soon, anyway, you're way behind in your training. I've seen you out with Torntail, lumbering around in a desperate attempt to catch a mouse. Prey could hear your heavy pawsteps on the ground from a territory's length away!"

Nettlepaw looked down at his paws, his ears turning hot from embarrassment. He knew that what the older apprentice was saying was perfectly true. He'd never be a warrior, he just couldn't do it. The only way he could ever win a battle was to crush his opponent with his weight. "Maybe you're right, Redpaw," he sighed. "Maybe I should just give up."

"There's a good idea," Redpaw meowed curtly.

When they arrived at camp, no cat seemed to have missed them. There were a few murmurs from cats who were staying up late as Nettlepaw walked in, covered from ears to tail in gooey, sticky mud. He walked into the apprentice's den, and curled up near Echopaw, who was already fast asleep. Redpaw growled and bit Nettlepaw, forcing him out of the way so that he instead could sleep next to Echopaw.

Nettlepaw looked on sadly, sulking over towards his brother and snuggling near him, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling of the mud hardening on his fur.

--

The next morning, Echopaw woke up blinking until the crust was out of her amber eyes. She shuddered as she looked over to see Redpaw, still asleep, curled up next to her, their fur touching one another's. To her, he was the most handsome, smart, and charming tom in all the land, even though she had to admit he could be a little bit mean and prickly at times, but she was sure it was only because he had lost his mother and siblings to greencough at a young age. She hoped that he liked her, too, and that one day they'd be mates. She flinched as he woke up and stretched, completely ignoring her as he walked out of the den.

"Um, good morning, Redpaw!" she called, scrambling to her paws and leaping to catch up with him.

"Good morning," he growled, stiffly walking towards the fresh kill pile.

"I was wondering if – maybe – we could do some training – together? Wouldn't that be nice?" Echopaw meowed, picking out a mouse from the pile and following Redpaw to the rock where the apprentices liked to gather to eat and share tongues.

He glared at her for a moment before replying. "Sure."

Echopaw's eyes lit up with happiness and she bit down on her mouse, gulping down pieces in a hurry so that their training session might begin a little faster. Redpaw, on the other hand, was a little more slow with his eating, taking time to chew his vole before swallowing it. She glanced over anxiously, every moment he took was a moment wasted.

"Calm down, Lightningtail and Thrushfeather probably aren't even awake yet," he hissed, sensing her anxiety. "It's your fault that I'm awake right now. I could have slept in a little bit longer if not for your fidgeting."

"I'm so sorry, Redpaw," she meowed in a hushed voice. "I didn't mean to. I guess I'm just an early riser."

"I'll get over it," he replied.

They sat in silence as he finished his prey, bite by slow bite. He then got up and walked over to Lightningtail, who was just coming out of the warrior den, a warm glow in her eyes as she saw him walk over to her. "Look who's up before the sun rose," she purred.

"Lightningtail, Echopaw wants to tag along for training, would that be alright with you?" Redpaw asked, eyes narrowed as he looked back at Echopaw who was close behind him. She looked very pretty in the first dawn's light, he had to admit.

He looked back at Lightningtail, who now had the warmth in her eyes replaced by a flash of something else. "No, Redpaw, she'd distract you from your training for sure," she meowed simply. "But maybe some other day."

"Alright then," Redpaw snorted, whiskers twitching. "I'll wait for you by the entrance and we'll leave when you're ready."

Echopaw gloomily turned around and padded after Lightningtail, who was heading over towards the fresh kill pile. "Why can't I come along?" she complained.

"I already said it was because you'll distract him. He's going to be one of the best warriors in the forest, and you can't get in the way of that." Lightningtail replied, tearing into a thrush she had chosen.

Echopaw eyed her suspiciously and then sadly walked to the center of the camp to wait for Thrushfeather to wake up. She watched as Lightningtail finished her meal and went to join Redpaw so that they could go and train. There had to be some other reason that she didn't want her to tag along, something other than simply wanting Redpaw to be the best warrior in the forest. She saw Thrushfeather emerge sleepily from the warriors' den, and she greeted her with a respectful nod. Her ears flicked as she heard the sound of heavy pawsteps behind her.

It was Nettlepaw, waddling around, coated with a thick layer of dried and cracking mud. She could hardly keep herself from letting out a meow of laughter. "What happened to you?!" she exclaimed, examining the pudgy tabby apprentice.

"I just tripped and fell in mud again," he lied, shaking to get some of the mud off as he lumbered towards the fresh kill pile. "It's nothing, really, it'll all fall off."

"It looks like it's taking some of your fur with it," Echopaw pointed out, motioning with her tail towards small bald patches that were now appearing on his pelt as the mud dropped off.

Nettlepaw's ears flattened and he tried to avoid eye contact with any of the other cats as he picked up a couple of plump pieces of prey from the pile and carried them off to eat them. Skypaw followed him, stopping to pick up a robin before going to question his brother.

"Seriously, you fell in mud again? You're really clumsy, aren't you, Nettlepaw?" he meowed, staring down at the chubby apprentice as he wolfed down his food.

"S'pose so," Nettlepaw replied between bites. "It's alright, it'll all fall off, and my fur will grow back eventually."

"Well, okay then, it just seems like there's something you're not telling me."

"Oh, no, everything's fine, Skypaw, I'm alright." Nettlepaw assured him. "Oh, I have to go now, Torntail is calling me, I'll see you later!"

Skypaw looked around, not seeing his mentor, Sootclaw, anywhere. He hoped she would show up soon, or it'd be the third time in a row he'd get a late start training. He'd never become a warrior at this rate. Suddenly, he heard a mourning wail, and looked over to see a cat's body being carried out of the warrior den. With a gasp he realized who it was:

Sootclaw.


	4. Chapter Three

**Chapter Three**

Skypaw's eyes widened and he rushed up to the warriors who were carrying his mentors body out of the den. She couldn't be dead, he had just seen her yesterday, and she looked fine. He stiffly padded over, pressing his nose to her cold flank as they took her out to the middle of the camp. He looked around, searching for someone who could give him an answer. His whiskers drooped when no one noticed him, or offered to give him an explanation.

"What – what happened?" he meowed loudly.

"We don't know," one of the warriors said, looking down at his paws. "But I'm sorry about your mentor, young Skypaw."

Skypaw's eyes were wide. "How could you not know? Cats don't just _die_ without a cause!"

Duskpool spoke up, "Rainheart thinks it may have been caused by an old injury."

Skypaw felt like thorns were pricking at his pelt, and his heart was racing faster than a rabbit. If his mentor had died, who would train him? Would he have to relearn everything he'd learned before, or would his new mentor pick up where Sootclaw left off? Questions raced through the young apprentice's mind as he stood, dizziness taking hold of him as he staggered to the place they had set Sootclaw's body so that everyone could pay their last respects to her. He touched his nose to her flank and murmured a goodbye before walking over to a shaded corner of the camp and sitting down.

"Ah, Skypaw, there you are," came a meow. It was Kestrelstar, the Clan's leader, a large brown tabby with sunken-in amber eyes. "I'm sure you're wondering who's going to train you now, am I right?"

"Yeah," replied Skypaw. "I mean, I've never heard of anyone's mentor dying before."

Kestrelstar touched his nose to Skypaw's head. "Well, we'll simply assign you a new one. Spottedflower has been asking me to give her an apprentice for moons now. I kept telling her to wait until Whitefeather's kits were of the right age, but now I have an opportunity to give her one sooner."

"I don't think I want to be a warrior anymore," Skypaw murmured. "Sootclaw just – died, without warning, she wasn't even really hurt. Duskpool told me that Rainheart said it was from an old injury. Sootclaw never even saw it coming. I don't want to die that way."

"There's not much of a chance that you'll die the way Sootclaw did. We don't know for sure what happened to her, but when you live in a Clan, there's always a chance of dying one way or another. Whether it be in battle, or from sickness, or if you live to be an elder and simply pass away from old age." Kestrelstar informed him.

"No," Skypaw sniffed. "I don't want to die in battle or anything like that. Rainheart's really old, right? Do you think he'd want me as his apprentice?"

Kestrelstar stiffened for a moment, but then nodded. "I'm sure he'd love that, Skypaw. If that's truly the path you want to take in life, it's fine with me if you become a medicine cat apprentice. Just remember that there are a lot of responsibilities that will come with being Rainheart's apprentice. You'll have to learn about herbs and take care of cats when they're sick, you'll receive dreams from StarClan, and you won't get to have a mate."

"That's all fine with me, Kestrelstar. I can handle it, trust me," Skypaw assured the leader, giving a dip of his head.

"I'll go speak with Rainheart about it, then. If all goes well you both can visit the Moonpool tonight and have your apprentice ceremony preformed there," Kestrelstar meowed.

"I have to go to the Moonpool?" Skypaw asked. "I thought you're just made an apprentice like usual."

"No, you have to share tongues with StarClan for the first time when you go there. Now, if you're done talking, I'll go and speak with Rainheart."

"Alright, Kestrelstar, thank you!"

Skypaw watched as Kestrelstar padded towards the medicine cat den. It seemed like an eternity before both leader and medicine cat exited the den and came back over to him. "Rainheart says he'll be happy to take you as an apprentice, Skypaw," Kestrelstar told him. "He'll take you to the Moonpool tonight."

"We'll start the journey at about Sunhigh," mewed the old medicine cat. "It'll be dark by the time we reach the Moonpool."

"Will the other medicine cats be there?" asked Skypaw.

"It's a half moon tonight, so yes, they'll be there," Rainheart replied. "Watch out for that Lizardtail, though, he has a tongue sharper than his claws."

Skypaw nodded, "I will."

"Since you're not doing anything in the meantime, Skypaw, why don't you go and change the elders' bedding?" Kestrelstar suggested.

Skypaw's whiskers drooped. "Alright, I will. But I think it's a terribly _boring_ chore!"

"I cleaned out my share of bedding when I was an apprentice myself," meowed Kestrelstar. "I know how boring it can be, but it isn't going to change itself."

Skypaw flicked his tail and stalked off towards the elders' den, hoping that he wouldn't have to endure listening to Foxcatcher's stories again.

--

Nettlepaw barreled towards his mentor, trying to knock him off his paws, only to find he had either missed and gone too far, or that he had tripped and fell onto his face again. Torntail shook his head and let out a heavy sigh of stress. He knew that Nettlepaw wasn't making any progress, and that he'd be utterly useless in battle.

"Try again, Nettlepaw," he meowed, trying to sound as encouraging as possible. "This time, try to aim for me, and not the tree behind me."

Nettlepaw wailed. "I'm not aiming for the tree!"

"Just try again," Torntail told him. "Maybe this time you'll make it."

"I won't make it! I'm an awful apprentice, and I'll make an even worse warrior! I'm just too fat to do anything! Why don't you just say it: I'm terrible, and I'll never, ever be a warrior!" Nettlepaw growled, his claws digging into the ground as he spoke.

Torntail was taken aback. "I'm sure you'll become a warrior _someday_, Nettlepaw," he meowed, trying to reassure his angry apprentice.

"Yeah, when I'm old enough to go to the elders' den! Redpaw was right, I should just give up, I'm good for nothing," Nettlepaw spat. "I'm probably better off as a kittypet living in some Twoleg Nest and being fed tasteless dry food!"

"Calm down now, Nettlepaw," Torntail meowed, ears flattening.

But Nettlepaw wasn't about to calm down. He charged towards Torntail, fast as his legs could carry him, claws extended and eyes narrowed. He collided with his mentor and brought him to the ground, landing directly on top of him and giving a few harsh nips. He suddenly realized what he was doing and fell back, nearly crushing his own tail with his weight. "I'm – I'm sorry, Torntail, I didn't mean it!" he gasped, eyes flooding with disbelief.

"No, no, that was good, Nettlepaw," Torntail rasped. "Maybe there's still hope for you. That's enough training for today, I need to see Rainheart about getting some poultice for these bites you delivered to me. I'm very proud of you, actually. It's the first time I've ever seen you aggressively attack like you would during a border fight."

"You mean I did well?" Nettlepaw mewed, his ears pricking as though he was having a hard time believing what he was hearing.

Torntail nodded and coughed. "Yes, you did! Now let's get going back to camp."

Nettlepaw looked absolutely delighted as he lumbered behind his mentor, head held as high as he could hold it. He actually had a chance at becoming a warrior, and he believed more than anything that he would become one. They ducked through the entrance to the camp, and stopped suddenly as they saw cats crowded around the body of a small black she-cat. They slowly approached, wondering what had happened. Had there been a battle while they were gone? Perhaps ShadowClan had tried to raid the camp.

"What's going on?" Torntail asked Oakpelt, who was mourning over the loss of Sootclaw.

"We found her dead right after you left the camp, Torntail," replied the senior warrior.

Torntail looked at the tabby with disbelief. "Impossible, I was sharing tongues with her just yesterday. Was she murdered? What happened?"

"It was an old injury," meowed Rainheart as he padded up to the three. "It hadn't healed properly and she simply died from a clot or infection of sorts."

Nettlepaw had gone over to pay his last respects to the dead she-cat. Torntail looked on in confusion, his nose twitching as he looked from Rainheart to Oakpelt. "That's terribly sad," he meowed at last, walking over to the body and touching his nose to Sootclaw's cold flank. "May she hunt with StarClan in peace."

There was a murmur of agreement from nearby cats. Sootclaw's sudden death had seemingly interrupted everyone's routine. Kestrelstar was standing over by the High Ledge, organizing both a hunting patrol and a border patrol, and trying to get things back in order again. He was having a hard time assuring some of the warriors that there wasn't a disease going around. Whitefeather was especially worried, and kept her distance from Sootclaw's body, just in case there had been some sort of sickness.

Foxcatcher and Hollyleaf seemed to be the least worried. They'd been through a lot in their time and death was no stranger to either of them. Both of them had witnessed many a cat close to them die long before their time. Nettlepaw finished grieving over Sootclaw and bumbled over towards the nursery, hoping he could assure Whitefeather that there was nothing to worry about.

"Don't come in here if you've been anywhere near Sootclaw!" the queen exclaimed, fur pricked as Nettlepaw entered the small den.

"It's alright, Whitefeather, she didn't die from a sickness," Nettlepaw meowed, trying to reassure the frantic queen. "Can I get you and your kits something from the fresh kill pile?"

Whitefeather sighed. "Alright, just make sure it's fresh and not disease ridden."

"I wouldn't give you crowfood, Whitefeather, I assure you that," mewed Nettlepaw before stalking off. _That queen really needs to calm down, she's always alarmed about something. _

He picked up a starling and carried it back to the nursery. He dropped it on the ground and let the queen eat. Her kits gathered around and began sniffing the prey before taking little bites of it. Pouncekit, a little brown tabby with white around his muzzle, took large bites and wound up nearly choking as he scarfed the bird down. Whitefeather looked worried for a moment, licking her kit heavily to try and coax the food down his throat.

"I'm okay, mom," Pouncekit mewed, though it didn't seem to assure Whitefeather one bit. Sunkit, another tabby nearly identical to her brother, looked horrified at the whole seen. Her eyes were as round as the full moon, and she backed away from the piece of fresh kill to hide behind her mother. Petalkit followed her sister's lead and crawled behind Whitefeather, peeking out occasionally to see if everything was alright.

"Mom, stop licking!" Pouncekit complained, pulling away from Whitefeather and taking another bite out of the bird. Sunkit and Petalkit decided it was safe to come out and tentatively began munching on the juicy piece of prey themselves.

"Thank you, Nettlepaw," meowed Whitefeather, dipping her head as she thanked him.

Nettlepaw purred. "No problem, Whitefeather. I've got to go now, I think I hear Torntail calling me!"

He scrambled out of the den and padded up to his mentor. "What is it?" he asked.

"First off, your brother Skypaw has decided to become a medicine cat apprentice, second –,"

Nettlepaw interrupted with a loud meow. "Really?"

"Yes, now please let me speak. Second of all, Hollyleaf has been complaining of ticks in her pelt. Why don't you bring her a piece of prey and then get some bile from Rainheart and clean them off?"

"I did that yesterday! She attracts ticks like a piece of crowfood attracts maggots!" Nettlepaw complained, his tail lashing back and forth.

"Even so, they are our elders and we have to respect them. So go and do what I've said, and maybe if use a little extra bile it'll keep the ticks off her for a while longer," Torntail meowed, turning around to go grab a piece of fresh kill for himself. Nettlepaw's ears were pinned against his head as he grabbed a piece of prey for the elders and lumbered towards their den. _I wish I didn't have to do this!_

--

"Skypaw, is it your wish to enter the mysteries of a medicine cat?" Rainheart rasped to his apprentice. The half moon glowed, casting light down on the medicine cats who had gathered by the Moonpool to share tongues with their warrior ancestors.

Skypaw nodded. "It is."

"Then come forward. Warriors of StarClan, I present to you this apprentice. He has chosen the path of a medicine cat. Grant him your wisdom and insight, so that he may understand your ways and heal his Clan in accordance with your will. Now, crouch down and drink from the pool." Rainheart told the new medicine cat apprentice.

Skypaw did so, walking down to the edge of the pool and flattening himself as though he were about to go hunting. He lapped from the waters and soon felt a wash of sleep come over him. He found himself in a clearing, surrounded by starry cats of all shapes and sizes. He felt like he couldn't breathe as one of them walked over to him, leaning down to examine him.

"Welcome, Skypaw," the cat meowed to him, touching his nose to the apprentice's forehead. "My name is Jayfeather, and I am a medicine cat much like you will be someday."

"Jayfeather!" exclaimed Skypaw. "I've heard of you, you're legendary! You have the power of the stars in your paws!"

Jayfeather shook his head. "I no longer simply have the power of the stars, I have become one of the stars in Silverpelt."

Skypaw looked confused for a moment, but he shook his head to clear his mind. "Well, is there anything you need me to tell the Clan?"

"We see a time of darkness coming," Jayfeather murmured. "Many a cat will die, but you have to remember that there is always a ray of hope."

Skypaw gasped. "A time of darkness? What's going to happen?"

"We don't know, Skypaw, it is not given to us to gaze into the future," Jayfeather meowed. "We can only catch glimpses of what is to come."

"But there is a prophecy," came a voice from behind the starry medicine cat. "Tell him about the prophecy!"

Jayfeather nodded and closed his blue eyes. "Water will become the fire, flames will rise from ashes, and blood will cover the ground."

Skypaw felt weak as Jayfeather spoke, and began to shiver with cold. Images of the bloodied corpses of cats flashed in his mind and he let out a squeak of fear. Before he knew it he was awake by the Moonpool, looking around back and forth, panting. None of the other medicine cats were awake yet, so he decided to rest and think about what he had just seen. Was what Jayfeather said true? Were the Clans going to experience a time of darkness in the near future? He felt another shiver go down his spine as he thought about it. There must be some way the forest could be saved from the impending doom.


	5. Chapter Four

**Chapter Four**

Skypaw's heart was still racing as he remembered his dream. He looked over at Rainheart, wondering if the medicine cat was receiving the same prophecy he had. One by one the medicine cats started waking up, some looking worried, some looking rather pleased. Rainheart padded up to Skypaw, a worried look in his dull green eyes. "I need to talk with you later," he murmured, stiffly walking away from the Moonpool, and saying his goodbyes to the other medicine cats before heading back towards ThunderClan territory.

It was a long, quiet journey back to the camp, neither apprentice nor mentor spoke or looked at each other the whole way. Both of them had dark thoughts swimming in their minds. They pushed themselves past the camp guard and padded over to the medicine cats den, ignoring any meows of welcoming from the few cats who were still awake. As soon as they entered, Rainheart pressed himself against the edge of his den, eyes narrowed.

"What did StarClan tell you?" he asked, looking around as though he were afraid someone were listening to him.

"I saw Jayfeather," Skypaw meowed. "He told me that a time of darkness was coming – and then he told me a prophecy, but I don't know what it means."

Rainheart flicked his tail. "I don't know exactly what it means, either," he meowed. "But I can guess, and I think it has something to do with RiverClan."

"RiverClan? Are you sure?"

"No, I'm not sure," Rainheart sighed. "You can never be sure with these things. We just have to keep our eyes on them, that's all."

"Maybe we should tell Kestrelstar," Skypaw suggested.

"We will, in the morning. If there is an attack coming, then he'll need to know about it," the old medicine cat agreed. "Let's get some rest now, and try to get our minds off of this."

"Alright, Rainheart," Skypaw meowed, dragging some moss from the supplies and shaping it into a nest before lying down and curling himself into a ball. He shut his eyes, but sleep didn't come easy, and when it did come it was riddled with nightmares.

Skypaw felt like he was drowning, currents tugged on his pelt and his lungs were burning. He could see shore, but no matter how hard he kicked and struggled, he found that he wasn't getting any closer. On shore, he could barely make out the shape of a small gray cat, eyes blazing like the sun. Without warning, he found himself plunging into darkness, surrounded by gaunt cats who were no more than fur and skeletons. Their eyes were sunken in, and they were yowling in pain and hunger. Bodies of kits were laying on the ground, covered in blood. What's worse was many of the faces looked familiar.

Standing above all of them perched upon a boulder majestically was a ginger tabby, looking ready for battle, green eyes glinting as rays of sunlight illuminated his fur. He looked like a lion, but Skypaw could sense a dark aura surrounding him. The ginger cat leaped from his perch, and blood covered the ground everywhere he walked. Skypaw could almost smell the stench of death and decay and he stood, mouth open, staring in awe. He turned around to see two lithe brown tabbies in hunter's crouch, one being a tom with startling blue eyes, the other being a she-cat with glowing amber eyes. Behind them was a cat with pure white fur and green eyes, darkness surrounding her as she stood.

In the shadows behind the three lurked another brown tabby, bigger and more muscular than the others, amber eyes fogged with sadness. Her muzzle was scarred, and her ears were battered. She disappeared into the forest, the other three cats following her. No one was left, Skypaw was alone.

"Skypaw!" came a harsh meow. "Wake up, you've been tossing all night long!"

Skypaw opened his eyes to see Rainheart standing over him, looking both bothered and concerned at the same time. "I was having a nightmare," Skypaw meowed sleepily. "I'm sorry if I kept you awake, it was awful."

"I can understand that. A lot has happened recently, and it's probably all coming back to get you in your sleep. Maybe tonight you can have some poppy seeds to help you sleep without dreams," the medicine cat purred.

"Thanks," Skypaw mewed. "So what are we doing today?"

"Well, I thought I'd just show you some of the herbs and what the do, but it turns out that Whitefeather isn't feeling well today, so I'm going to teach you as we help her," Rainheart explained, flicking his tail to signal Skypaw to follow him to the nursery. "She doesn't want to leave her kits, though I've told her that if she doesn't, they might catch whatever she has."

Skypaw blinked and meowed, "I'm sure Whitefeather wouldn't want to give her kits any sickness, but knowing her she also wouldn't want to leave her kits alone. Imagine how she'll be when they're apprentices, she might not even let them leave the camp!"

"Yes, she is overly protective of them, isn't she? She has to come to terms with the fact that one day, they may go out on a border patrol, and never come back," Rainheart meowed. "That's the harsh reality of being a Clan warrior."

_At least I'm not at that risk, _Skypaw thought.

--

"Lightningtail says that I'm going to have my assessment today," Redpaw bragged, licking his long, red fur every once in a while as he spoke. "If all goes well, I'm going to be a warrior by tomorrow."

"That's great!" Echopaw exclaimed, amber eyes shimmering with delight. She licked her paw and drew it across her forehead and muzzle, cleaning off bits of dirt that had settled on her as she slept. "What do you hope your warrior name is going to be?"

"I haven't really thought about it," Redpaw admitted. "It's up to Kestrelstar, I'll be fine with whatever he gives me. Redfrost would be nice, though, I suppose."

"Hey, have you noticed that Lightningtail is looked a little – plump recently?" Echopaw asked, walking slowly towards the fresh kill pile, matching her pawsteps to Redpaw's. "Do you think she might be going to have kits?"

Redpaw's ears flickered. "She might be, I don't know," he meowed. "Why don't you ask her? We're going on a border patrol today."

"I've seen her sharing tongues with Stoneclaw and Oakpelt a lot recently," Echopaw mewed. "Do you think one of them could be the father?"

It seemed like an eternity before Redpaw spoke. "I don't know," he replied. "We probably won't know, either, queens aren't required to say who the father of their kits is."

Echopaw's tail flicked as she pondered the situation. "Do you think it'll effect her deputy position?"

"We don't even know for sure if she is going to have kits Echopaw," Redpaw growled. "Even if she did, she'd probably just get another queen to nurse them for her."

"There are no other pregnant queens at the moment, Redpaw," Echopaw meowed, picking up a bird and biting into it hungrily.

"I think Spottedflower is," Redpaw murmured, chewing on his own piece of prey, occasionally glaring at Echopaw. "I heard her talking about it with Whitefeather. Apparently, Sloeberry is the father of her kits, though since I was far away I couldn't hear too well."

"That'll work out fine, then," Echopaw meowed happily, burying the bones of her bird carcass carefully. "Oh, look, Lightningtail is gathering together the patrol, let's go!"

"Have you noticed that Kestrelstar almost never goes on patrols anymore?" came a murmur from one of the warriors.

"Yes, I have, maybe something is wrong," meowed another.

Redpaw's ears flicked back and forth as he listened to them. They were right about Lightningtail organizing and carrying on patrols, but that didn't mean there was anything wrong with the leader of the Clan.

"Can I come with you?" Nettlepaw asked Lightningtail as he lumbered up to her.

"Only if you can keep up the pace," Lightningtail sighed. "If you can't, we'll just leave you behind, and you can find your way back to camp yourself."

Nettlepaw looked determined, and followed the warriors towards the border between WindClan and ThunderClan. WindClan were one of ThunderClan's current enemies, and they had been since the times when Firestar was leader. While once they were considered to be the weakest Clan, WindClan were now a formidable foe, with fast and skilled warriors. They hadn't lost a border battle in a long time now. Their leader, Harestar, hated ThunderClan with an undying passion. He would give anything to see them destroyed.

"Half of you go and patrol in the tunnels," Lightningtail meowed to her patrol. "The rest of us will strengthen our scent markers along the border and watch for WindClan patrols."

Nettlepaw followed the group going into the tunnels. Those tunnels had been blocked up for many seasons, but the recent heavy rains had washed away the rubble that had kept WindClan from ambushing ThunderClan for so long. Musky scents flooded the nostrils of the warriors as they entered the tunnel, placing each pawstep tentatively. WindClan had been down there, recently.

"This scent can't be older than a day," meowed Stoneclaw, ears pinned against his head. "Those coldhearted WindClanners must be planning something."

"They say it's the cold winds from the mountains that have chilled their hearts," growled another warrior, flexing his claws.

It seemed to be true. Ever since WindClan had moved from the old territories, they had grown more and more aggressive. Their new moorland sat just below the mountains, and it really did seem like their hearts had been frozen by the winds that blew from up there. Tension passed between the cats as they walked further into the caves, eyes darting back and forth, all of their senses on high alert. They froze as they heard the sound of pawsteps coming from one of the many forks in the tunnels, and they darted after them.

Nettlepaw was doing his best to keep up with them as they ran, but with the extra weight on his body holding him back, he hardly made it the first few foxlengths. He couldn't figure out which tunnel the patrol had gone down, his sense of smell was still weak from his injury. All of the sudden he heard a yowl from behind him, out of the shadows darted a WindClan warrior, fast on her paws. Nettlepaw tried to move, but the enemy warrior had already snagged her claws into his pelt, and didn't seem to want to let go any time soon. He rolled over, nearly crushing her with his mass. She yowled in pain and ran away in defeat, heading down one of the tunnels back into WindClan territory. The patrol that Nettlepaw had separated from had heard the yelling and rushed back to investigate.

"What happened?"

"Was it WindClan?"

"Tell us, Nettlepaw, this is important!"

"It was a WindClan cat, she attacked me, but I rolled over onto her and she ran away," Nettlepaw meowed, recounting the events that had happened mere moments before.

The fur on Stoneclaw's neck bristled. "Foxdung!" he spat. "They might have been on ThunderClan territory, quick, we have to go and find Lightningtail!"

The patrol ran out of the tunnels, and found themselves face to face with what seemed to be the whole of WindClan. Their deputy, Flamewing, was standing in front of the group of cats, a smug look on his face. Nettlepaw could see that the WindClan patrol had captured the other half of ThunderClan's border patrol, and had them either pinned or surrounded.

Stoneclaw let out a guttural meow, "what do you want, Flamewing?"

"Looks like I've captured a whole ThunderClan patrol!" the deputy bragged, tail lashing back and forth as he walked up to Stoneclaw. He signaled to his patrol to come and surround the ThunderClan cats, eyes blazing as he turned to Lightningtail.

"So, what's a _KittypetClan_ patrol doing on WindClan territory?" Flamewing spat angrily, claws unsheathed as he slunk towards the ThunderClan deputy.

Lightningtail's eyes flashed. "This isn't WindClan territory, you piece of foxdung! This land belongs to ThunderClan!"

"Not anymore it doesn't," Flamewing hissed. "This little part of your territory belongs to WindClan, now. It figures a lousy bunch of _kittypets _like you wouldn't see an ambush coming. This was almost all too easy."

Nettlepaw wanted to batter the conceited WindClan deputy's ears, and he could tell the rest of the patrol wanted to do the same, and perhaps more. Harestar wasn't even as ruthless as this cat was. "Take these worthless maggots back to the camp," Flamewing ordered. The warriors obeyed, nipping and biting at the flanks of the ThunderClan cats, driving them in the direction of WindClan territory. It seemed like moons before they reached the camp, where they were greeted by the sounds of hissing and spitting coming from the WindClanners.

To Nettlepaw's surprise, there seemed to be no dens for the WindClan cats to sleep in. Where did they plan on keeping prisoners if they had no dens?

"You'll not be staying here," Flamewing growled, as though he had read Nettlepaw's mind. "We have a _special _place for crowfood like you lot. I'm just hear to get some prey and traveling herbs before we leave."

He then turned to his patrol. "Half of you go back to ThunderClan territory and mark new borders," he commanded. "If they give you any trouble there, kill whomever gets in your way."

_Kill them? _Nettlepaw thought. Wasn't it considered dishonorable to kill a cat in battle? It seemed WindClan had completely abandoned the warrior code. The rest of the cats continued to guard them as Flamewing went to retrieve herbs and prey.

He chose the best piece for himself, and devoured it swiftly. He brought fresh kill to the rest of his cats and then headed towards the base of a huge boulder, where the Clan's medicine cat stored the herbs. The ThunderClan cats watched as he spoke to the medicine cat, and then came towards them carrying herbs.

"Flamewing, who are these cats?" came a booming meow as Harestar came out of his cave, looking around in confusion.

"I captured them like you asked me to, Harestar," Flamewing replied, chewing on the herbs he had been given.

"Good work," Harestar meowed proudly. "You never fail me, Flamewing, you'll be an excellent leader one day. Take them to the prison, and may StarClan go with you."

Flamewing nodded and watched as the old leader limped towards his den. Nettlepaw heard a harsh whisper in his ear.

"We should make a run for it," Redpaw growled, hackles rising as he spoke. "We should go back to ThunderClan and get help."

Lightningtail overheard him and shook her head. "That's not a good idea, Redpaw," she meowed. "These cats are as fast as the wind, they'd catch us before we could go a few pawsteps."

Flamewing turned to the cats, both ThunderClan and RiverClan, and signaled with his tail that they should follow him. They exited the camp, heading East into the depths of the moorland. No ThunderClan cat knew where they were going, or what was going to happen next. They could only hope StarClan would deliver them.


	6. Chapter Five

**Chapter Five**

The ThunderClan camp was in a stir, every cat was gathered, gossiping about what may or may not have happened to the patrol that had gone out earlier. They were supposed to have returned a while ago, but something seemed to have delayed them. Kestrelstar was distraught, nothing had happened like this in a while. Last time it did RiverClan had attacked the camp and stole several kits from the nursery, and killing several warriors. At the current moment in time, you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. No one wanted anything to happen like it had the time before.

With WindClan especially hostile at the moment, they knew they ran the risk of having a repeat of the last incident. Cats began to slink towards the Highledge, hoping that their leader would make a reassuring announcement of some sort. They only had less than half of their warriors at camp at the moment, and if they were invaded it could mean certain death for all of them. Kestrelstar gingerly made his way towards the ledge, placing each paw step stiffly.

"All cats old enough to catch their own prey gather beneath the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" he yowled.

He didn't have to wait long for the cats to come, all of them were eager for information and most of them had already been sitting there waiting for him to speak long before he called the meeting. He gazed over the crowd of cats. There weren't many of them, how could they keep the Clan protected if there was an invasion? Kestrelstar swallowed and began to speak.

"Cats of ThunderClan, as you may have noticed many of our warriors and apprentices have been missing since early this sunrise," he meowed loudly. "We've sent out a smaller border patrol to go and search for them. There is a possibility that our cats may have been captured or killed by a rival Clan, but we won't know for sure until the scouts return. For now, I need all the warriors left in camp to spread out and guard the camp entrance."

He paused for a moment. "I'd also like to call up Whitefeather's kits. Our Clan needs as many cats as possible to help in case of battle and I'd like to make them apprentices before –"

"No!" came a yowl from the back of the crowd. It was Whitefeather, hackles raised and fur pricked. Her ears were flat against her head as she pulled her kits towards her. "I won't let you make them apprentices! They're too young, and untrained! If there's a battle they'll all be killed!"

Kestelstar narrowed his eyes. "They aren't too young," he growled, desperation clear in his voice. "Bring them up now, Whitefeather."

She hesitated, but then turned and whispered to them. They bounded towards the Highledge and jumped up, standing next to Kestrelstar. "By naming apprentices we show ThunderClan will survive and remain strong," he meowed. He turned to Petalkit and lifted his head. "Petalkit, from now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Petalpaw."

The small white she-cat looked on proudly, green eyes shining with joy and pride. All of the sudden Kestrelstar's face fell. He realized there weren't enough warriors to mentor the three. Most of them either already had apprentices or were out with the patrol that hadn't come back yet. In order to make this work, he would have to mentor one of the three.

"Silvercloud, you are ready for an apprentice, you will be Petalpaw's mentor. I know you will pass your strength and courage to Petalpaw and teach her the skills that will make her a brave warrior of ThunderClan."

Silvercloud hopped onto the Highledge and touched noses with Petalpaw before the two went to go sit in the crowd together. Kestrelstar turned to Sunkit and motioned for her to stand next to him. "Sunkit, from now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Sunpaw," he purred. "I have decided that I will mentor you and teach you the skills necessary to make you a warrior of ThunderClan."

He touched noses with his new apprentice. He may only mentor her for the time being, if his patrol returned, he would assign the little tabby she-cat a new mentor. Finally, he called Pouncekit to him, and turned to the cats of ThunderClan. Pouncekit might have been a good name for him when he was a kit, but Kestrelstar was sure it wouldn't suit him during his time as an apprentice. "Pouncekit, from now on until you receive your warrior name you will be known as Thistlepaw," he murmured. Thistlepaw looked up, surprised about having his name changed from 'Pounce' to 'Thistle', but proud nonetheless. "Sloeberry, you are ready for another apprentice. You will be Thistlepaw's mentor. I know you will pass your wisdom and loyalty to him, and teach him the skills that will make him a brave warrior of ThunderClan."

Mentor and apprentice touched noses, and the Clan broke out into cheering. "Petalpaw! Sunpaw! Thistlepaw!" the cried loudly.

After the cheering died down, the warriors rushed to obey Kestrelstar's earlier orders. Whitefeather was glaring menacingly at Kestrelstar, eyes locked with his. She looked about ready to claw his ears off for making her kits apprentices. Any normal mother would have be ecstatic over their children's ceremonies, but not Whitefeather. Those kits were hers, and now that they were apprentices and there was the possibility of war, she knew very well that they might die. Her claws scraped the ground as she crawled back towards the nursery. Kestrelstar turned away and went to check on the warriors who were guarding the entrance to the camp. He closed his eyes and murmured a silent prayer to StarClan for the safety of his entire Clan.

--

After walking over many lengths of moor, without so much as a bite of food or a lick of water, the ThunderClan cats were exhausted and pawsore. Flamewing hadn't let any of them stop once for any reason. It was clear he wanted them to suffer as much as possible. They all tried to keep themselves void of any emotion, as to not give satisfaction to the cruel WindClan deputy. No one had said a word since they set out on the long journey. None of them really had anything to say.

They had come to a copse, and as they drew nearer to it, the cats could just barely make out the form of a cave. It had sharp rocks like teeth over the entrance, and all sorts of large sticks, brambles, and vines had been weaved in over them. Several of the WindClan cats rushed ahead and pulled back the sharp mess with their teeth, until there was a hole wide enough for the ThunderClan cats to squeeze in single file. Flamewing nipped at their flanks until each and everyone one of them had gone down inside. The WindClan cats pulled the barrier back over, and secured it with more vines and twigs, making sure that the cats inside could not escape.

"Blackleaf! Hazelfeather! Get over here and bring your apprentices. You'll be guarding the ThunderClan cats until we can figure out what we're going to do with them. If you let them escape, I will have your pelts!" growled Flamewing.

The WindClan warriors rushed to obey, and sat themselves outside the den. They didn't want to cross their deputy. He'd claw their ears off! Inside the cave, the ThunderClan cats murmured to one another, most of them expressing their disappointment about their defeat or concern over whether or not they could make an escape. They heard rustling as most of the WindClan cats left, leaving Blackleaf, Hazelfeather and their two apprentices to guard the cave.

"I think we can take them," Redpaw was saying to Lightningtail. "There's only a few of them, and many of us!"

Stoneclaw nodded. "I agree. But first we have to figure out how we're going to get through this barrier."

He flicked his tail towards the mess of sticks and brambles that covered the cave entrance. Nettlepaw stared at it for a moment before going up to it and biting at the brambles, wincing as they scratched his face. A few other cats followed his example and began tearing the barrier to bits. After a long while, they gave up, mouths and muzzles bloodied and sore. WindClan were smart, they had construction a nearly impenetrable prison. Irritable growls filled the air. Some cats were complaining about their sores, while others were complaining of hunger.

"Are we ever going to get out?" hissed Duskpool, ears flat against his head.

Echopaw clawed the ground. "If only there were some way to get out of here besides the entrance!"

"You know what, Echopaw? That's a great idea! We should look for an alternate exit," meowed Lightningtail. She began walked towards the back of the cave, searching the walls for holes.

It was a long shot, WindClan may have thought of possible escape via holes in the walls, and covered every one of them up. The patrol marched towards the back of the cave, inspecting every last stone. Suddenly, Redpaw piped up.

"I see a light!" he exclaimed, rushing towards the source.

The ThunderClan cats followed him eagerly. Sure enough, there was a pile of rubble, with a hole in it hardly big enough to fit a kit through.

"We'll have to widen it," Lightningtail meowed. She jumped up onto the rubble and began clearing some of it away with her paws. "Don't just stand there you lazy lot, get up here and help me!"

They began clearing away stones, bit by bit until the hole was large enough for them to squeeze out. Their escape had been easy. Perhaps too easy. Maybe WindClan knew of the weak spot in their prison and had traps planted outside. What if they were ambushed?

"Come on, let's go!" urged Stoneclaw, pushing himself through the small hole.

All of the cats followed, blinking as they stepped into the light of day. "Ugh, my eyes," grunted one of them.

"We're not entirely free yet," reminded Duskpool. "We're still on their territory, and we have to sneak past their guards."

Oakpelt flicked his tail. "The sooner we get back to ThunderClan land the better. Let's go!"

The ThunderClan cats filed behind their deputy and followed her through the small woodland. It wasn't long before they heard the murmurs of the warriors that had been left behind to guard the cave.

"That Flamewing seems to think he's clan leader!" spat Blackleaf.

Hazelfeather was drooped over a boulder, tail swishing back and forth as she looked at her companion. "If he's like this now, imagine how he'll be when Harestar dies and he becomes leader."

Ravenpaw blinked. "Just think of Flamewing with nine lives! He'll probably think he's invincible!"

"We'll be making war with every Clan around this lake," Blackleaf growled.

Fernpaw's ears pricked. "I hear something!"

"What is it?" Hazelfeather asked.

"Pawsteps!" the apprentice replied.

At about that moment the ThunderClan warriors leaped out of the bushes and attacked the WindClan group. Stoneclaw grabbed Hazelfeather by the scruff of her neck and scratched at her sides. She yowled in pain and struggled until she was freed. She ran away, heading in the direction of the WindClan camp. Blackleaf scratched Lightningtail on the flank, but the ThunderClan she-cat retaliated by whirling around and striking Blackleaf above the eye, leaving a deep wound. Echopaw had pinned Fernpaw to the ground, and bit her ear before letting her retreat. One by one the ThunderClan cats sent the WindClanners howling all the way to their camp.

"That takes care of those mangy pieces of crowfood," spat Redpaw as the last cat ran off.

Lightningtail was breathing heavily. "Is anyone hurt terribly?"

"Echopaw has a deep scratch on her shoulder, but it's nothing too bad." Stoneclaw replied, checking the rest of the warriors and apprentices for any cuts or injuries.

"It stings!" whined Echopaw. "I can hardly put any weight on my leg!"

Nettlepaw padded up to her and licked her wound tenderly. "Don't worry, you can make it." He assured her.

"I have a scratch on my belly," growled Duskpool. "But I'll be alright."

Lightningtail flicked her tail slightly to signal her patrol to follow her. They steadily began their journey back to ThunderClan territory. ThunderClan had lost that day. WindClan had claimed a piece of ThunderClan territory and made it clear that they weren't about to give it up any time soon. Shame and embarrassment burned beneath the pelt of every cat in the patrol. ThunderClan hadn't been beaten so badly in a long while. At least they had been able to show the WindClanners a good fight before the day ended. Echopaw stiffly walked alongside Nettlepaw, who glanced at her worriedly.

"Does it hurt that bad?" he asked.

Echopaw nodded. "Yeah, it's pretty sore."

"Rainheart or Skypaw will take care of it when we get back."

"I know that."

Nettlepaw paused for a moment. "You can lean on me if you'd like."

"No, thank you," meowed Echopaw.

Nettlepaw could feel his ears burning as Echopaw gave her reply. Didn't she even want to be his friend anymore? It didn't appear so. They used to get along so well. They had grown up in the nursery playing together. Then as soon as they became apprentices, her interest in him dwindled, and she started playing more with Redpaw and Skypaw. Redpaw had convinced her that Nettlepaw was just a worthless lump of fat. Sometimes even Nettlepaw believed this.

It was dark when they reached the ThunderClan camp. They were greeted with delighted cries of joy and sighs of relief. The three new apprentices bounded up to them to give them the news that they had just received new names and mentors.

Thistlepaw battled at Nettlepaw's tail as he hopped around. "Kestrelstar changed my name to Thistlepaw!" he announced. "I think it's awesome because Pouncepaw just sounds pathetic."

"Congratulations!" purred Nettlepaw. "I'm sorry I had to miss it."

He turned to see Echopaw and Duskpool making their way to the medicine cat den. He felt a pang of sympathy for the both of them. He had gotten away without a scratch. Of course, he hadn't really fought anyone, so that was well enough to be expected. All of the sudden he felt a nip on his rump. Petalpaw had pounced on him and given him a sharp bite.

"Hey! If you keep acting like a kit they're going to treat you like one," he scolded.

Petalpaw looked horrified. "I don't want to be treated like a kit, I'm an apprentice now!"

"Then stop pouncing on my tail."

"I'm sorry Nettlepaw," she apologized.

Nettlepaw gave her a quick, playful cuff on the ear. "It's alright, Petalpaw, I forgive you."

He watched as she ran off to go tell the other warriors about her apprenticeship. Nettlepaw was pleased that there were now other apprentices to befriend. He hoped that Redpaw wouldn't ruin his relationship with any of the three. Hopefully the ill-tempered red tabby would be satisfied with taking away Echopaw and Skypaw from him.

Nettlepaw froze as he heard Redpaw's scornful tone of voice. He was talking to the new apprentices, and kept glancing over in Nettlepaw's direction. Nettlepaw felt rage burning inside of him. Redpaw _was _trying to keep him from making friends with Thistlepaw, Sunpaw, and Petalpaw. He narrowed his green eyes and stared at Redpaw with malice.

"I wish you would just _die_."


	7. Chapter Six

**Chapter Six**

Leaves were blown across the forest floor by zephyrs of air. Kestrelstar hadn't been out on patrol in a long time. But now because of WindClan his warriors needed him with them more than ever. He had avoided battles before because of one reason. He was down to his last life. He prayed to StarClan that nothing would happen to him on this patrol. WindClan's marking scent lingered in the air, far from their regular boundaries. They had claimed a large chunk of ThunderClan territory for themselves. Kestrelstar turned to his cats with eyes narrowed.

"Go and reclaim our territory. Mark the boundaries with our scent," he ordered. "If you see any WindClan cats, tear their fur out!"

WindClan's scent was still fresh in the air. They'd been here not too long ago, that was for sure. For all the ThunderClanners knew, they could be lurking around, waiting to attack from the shadows. They began remarking their territory, keeping their ears pricked as they listened for any sound such as the rustle of leaves or the crack of a twig. But there might not even be any warning before an attack. WindClan were light on their feet, and very skilled when it came to ambushes.

"I see you're back for more," came a hiss. Out from the bushes prowled Flamewing, eyes narrowed. Behind him were many WindClan cats, ears pinned against their heads. They were all ready to attack at any given moment.

Kestrelstar turned his head and spat. "You!" he growled. "Where's Harestar?"

"He couldn't come. You know as well as I that that fleabag is older than dirt."

It was clear Flamewing had little respect for his Clan leader. Kestrelstar looked around, feeling slightly panicky. None of his cats were around, they had all gone off to remark the territory. "What do you want from us, Flamewing?" he growled.

"We just want your territory. If you leave, we won't fight you. If you refuse to go, blood _will _be shed today," the WindClan deputy threatened.

"ThunderClan will never surrender," Kestrelstar promised, unsheathing his claws. "WindClan has no right to take our territory from us."

There was an edgy moment of silence before Flamewing launched himself into the air and landed on Kestrelstar's back, raking his claws down the leader's shoulder. Kestrelstar yowled and hit Flamewing in the muzzle, sending the WindClan deputy tumbling backwards onto the forest floor. The other WindClan cats took this as a cue and began attacking the ThunderClan leader all at once, scratching and hissing. Kestrelstar fought as hard as he could. He sent several WindClan cats yowling back to their camp, but he couldn't hold all of them off.

He could hear the battle yowls of familiar cats in the distance. His patrol must have heard the fighting and come to help. Kestrelstar was about to greet them when he felt teeth bite down on his neck. Flamewing had recovered from the blow he had received earlier and was fighting with the fury of a lion. He raking his claws on the ThunderClan leader's chest, refusing to loosen his grip. Blood was welling up on Kestrelstar's fur. He pulled backwards, trying to roll to get the WindClan cat off of him. He choked and coughed. Flamewing wouldn't let go of his throat no matter what he tried to do.

Kestrelstar felt his vision begin to blur. All of the sudden the pressure on his throat relieved. A ThunderClan warrior had ripped Flamewing off of him.

Kestrelstar could taste blood in his mouth. He collapsed onto the ground, writhing in pain. The forest was growing darker, and the sounds of battle grew further and further away. He took a shaky last breath and closed his eyes. He had lost his final life.

"Kestrelstar is dead!"

--

Nettlepaw's tail swished back and forth as he watched Redpaw converse with Petalpaw. The little white she-cat looked mesmerized as the older apprentice spoke to her. Jealously welled up inside of Nettlepaw. Once again he found himself wanting to claw Redpaw's fur off. Suddenly, he heard a light meow behind him. It sounded almost exactly like Echopaw's voice, only younger.

"Hi, Nettlepaw!"

Nettlepaw looked around and saw Sunpaw standing behind him. She looked very pretty as the sunlight hit her fur. He hadn't noticed how lovely she looked before. "Hello, Sunpaw," he choked.

"It's a shame we didn't get to go out on the border patrol," she meowed. "I can't wait until my first battle!"

Nettlepaw licked his paw. "It's not as fun as you might think," he informed her.

"Maybe not for you, but that's just because you're – um, never mind. Anyhow, would you like to go over to the fresh kill pile? I saw Duskpool bring back a nice looking finch. If we hurry we can get to it before anyone else." Sunpaw's eyes were sparkling like stars as she spoke to him.

Before he could reply he heard a yowl coming from the camp entrance. Several bloodied ThunderClan warriors ran into the camp. Behind them Stoneclaw was carrying a body. Nettlepaw's heart was pounding as he rushed up to see who it was.

"Kestrelstar – he's dead!" Oakpelt gasped, collapsing onto the ground wearily.

Sloeberry was breathing heavily, eyes as wide as moons. "It was WindClan – Flamewing killed Kestrelstar..."

Cats began rushing up towards their leader's corpse, letting out mournful yowls and crowding around him. "There was nothing we could do," Silvercloud rasped. "He's with StarClan now."

Lightningtail approached the body, her eyes clouded with grief. She buried her nose into Kestrelstar's fur and closed her eyes. "Goodbye, old friend," she whispered. Cats young and old began to gather around their leader's body to share tongues with him one last time. They murmured and licked Kestrelstar's pelt, cleaning blood off of it.

Nettlepaw stiffly padded up to join in. How could Kestrelstar be dead? He had been so strong. He was one of the greatest warriors the forest had ever had. He licked him on the shoulder and quietly spoke to him. "May StarClan hunt with you."

After they were done, the elders took Kestrelstar's body to be buried. Nettlepaw watched as they carried him out of camp. His ears pricked as he heard Lightningtail begin to speak.

"Kestrelstar was a noble cat and a fierce warrior. He was undoubtedly one of the greatest leaders our Clan has ever had. He died in an effort to save ThunderClan from being overrun by WindClan. He will be remembered for seasons to come," she meowed. "I will try my hardest to follow in his pawsteps."

Murmurs of agreement came from the cats who stood below the Highledge. As Lightingtail spoke, Nettlepaw noticed her swollen belly for the first time. Was the deputy heavy with kits? If she was, how could she be the leader of their Clan? He stared at her as she descended starkly and cautiously from her perch. The crowd had already begun to dissipate. Lightningtail was walking towards the medicine cat's den, but for what reason?

Nettlepaw got up and lumbered towards the medicine cat den. He peered in and saw Skypaw and Rainheart. Both of them looked quite worried.

"What do you mean you're going to have kits?" asked Rainheart.

Lightingtail took a moment to reply. "Well, I thought Spottedflower could nurse them. She did have hers this morning, right?"

Rainheart still looked both shocked and furious. "You have to take over leading the Clan, Lightningtail! Without a leader we're weak."

"They're going to come any moment now, Rainheart. Please, you have to keep this a secret. How many cats have seen how many kits Spottedflower has had?" Lightningtail meowed with a sense of urgency in her voice.

"It's only been Skypaw and I," the medicine cat replied.

"Good, keep it that way."

Nettlepaw was utterly shocked. Lightingtail couldn't be having kits, she had to take over leadership duties. Would StarClan be angry? He was about to interrupt the conversation when he heard a quiet meow from behind him.

"I can't believe Kestrelstar is dead."

It was Echopaw, head down and whiskers drooped. Nettlepaw didn't think he'd ever seen her looking so sad. Then again, everyone was taking the death of their noble leader hard. No one had seen it coming. Kestrelstar never told anyone he had but one life left.

"Yeah, me neither," Nettlepaw meowed. "But he's with StarClan now, and I'm sure that he's happy there."

Echopaw's ears flicked. "How do we know he's with StarClan, though?" she mused.

"All cats go to StarClan when they die," Nettlepaw replied. "Or at least that's what I'm told."

"Have you ever seen a StarClan cat?" Echopaw asked.

"No," Nettlepaw replied. "I haven't, but I know they're up there watching over us."

Echopaw nodded. "I hope so. Do you think Kestrelstar is watching us?"

"Yeah, I do." Nettlepaw meowed, looking up at the sky.

He shifted his gaze back in Echopaw's direction, only to find she was gone. His ears pricked as he heard low, painful growls coming from the medicine cat den. Was Lightningtail having her kits that moment? He tried not to make too much noise as he peered in, but that was hard to do when your pawsteps were heavy on the ground.

Skypaw caught a glimpse of him and narrowed his eyes, silently urging him to leave. But Nettlepaw didn't want to leave. Lightningtail was clawing at the ground, and Rainheart was standing over her, holding a bundle of herbs in his mouth and urging the deputy to eat them. Was Lightningtail going to be able to go to the Moonpool to get her name and nine lives that night? He ducked back as fast as he could as Rainheart looked in his direction.

He began to lumber off to spread the word to other cats in the camp, but halfway to the apprentice den, he had a change of heart. If Lightningtail didn't want her secret to get out, he shouldn't say anything about it. It was the most respectful thing to do. He decided instead to go take a look at Spottedflower's kits. He clumped towards the nursery. Petalpaw was in there, looking at the little bundles of fur. Their eyes hadn't opened yet, and all they could do was crawl around and squeak quietly. Spottedflower was licking their fur tenderly, adoration for her kits in her eyes. At least something good had happened that day.

"They're so cute!" Petalpaw remarked.

Nettlepaw watched them tumble around. There were two of them, a little tortoiseshell kitten and a black tom-kit.

"Their names are Brindlekit and Fleetkit," Spottedflower purred.

Nettlepaw wanted to enjoy the moment, but he was more concerned about Lightningtail's birthing. What if something went horribly wrong? Who would lead the Clan if Lightningtail died during kitting? He murmured a quick congratulations to Spottedflower, then stood up and walked outside again.

"Please keep Lightningtail safe," he prayed to StarClan.

At about that moment, Skypaw came rushing out of the medicine cat den, ears pinned against his head. He padded up to his brother and looked around cautiously. "You saw her, didn't you?"

Nettlepaw looked down at his paws. "Lightningtail? Well, yeah, I suppose I did, but don't worry, I won't tell anyone. I promise!"

"She's had most of her kits now," Skypaw meowed urgently. "We're going to be moving them over to Spottedflower, can you keep watch and make sure no one's looking?"

Nettlepaw nodded. It felt good to be useful for something. He watched as Skypaw went in to talk with Spottedflower. Petalpaw came out of the den moments later looking rather annoyed, then padded over to the fresh-kill pile to join Redpaw and Sunpaw who were sharing a mouse there. Skypaw then came out and padded back to the medicine cat den. He came out after what seemed like forever with a little brown and white tabby kit in his jaws.

Nettlepaw looked around, making sure no one was there to see what was going on. One by one, Skypaw brought the kits into the nursery, and laid them down by Spottedflower's side. Soon they were all there, suckling happily. Skypaw, Rainheart, and Nettlepaw walked into the den, sniffing and licking the kits one by one.

"What are you going to do about Sloeberry and Petalpaw?" asked Nettlepaw. "Didn't they see how many kits Spottedflower had before?"

"We've taken care of that," Rainheart meowed. "They promised they wouldn't tell, and if they do, I'm sure Lightningtail will claw their fur off."

Skypaw turned to Spottedflower. "Lightningtail gave them names before we brought them here," he meowed. He touched his tail to the tabby-and-white one. "This one is Mosskit, the oldest in the litter, and a tom."

He then looked down at a little brown tabby tom. "This one is another tom named Barleykit."

There was yet another brown tabby, though darker in color than its siblings. "This one is Pinekit, and he's also a tom."

Skypaw paused for a moment before nudging the last kit in the litter, a little calico who was the smallest of them all. "This one is Twigkit," Skypaw announced. "She's was the last one born, so she's kind of small."

Spottedflower nodded and began grooming the kits to clear whatever bits of sac they had left on them. The medicine cats and Nettlepaw quietly walked out of the den to let the queen adjust to having four extra kits to take care of. They all padded over to the fresh-kill pile to get something to eat. Nettlepaw watched Redpaw talk to Sunpaw and Petalpaw out of the corner of his eye. All of the sudden a weak-looking Lightningtail approached Rainheart and Skypaw.

"I need traveling herbs," she meowed. "I'm going to the Moonpool!"

Rainheart looked shocked. "So soon?" he gasped. "I don't know if that's a good idea, Lightningtail."

"Just do what I say," the deputy hissed.

"Skypaw, you know which herbs are for traveling, right?" Rainheart asked.

Skypaw nodded.

"Good, good; go and fetch them for Lightningtail." Rainheart looked pleased with his apprentice.

Lightningtail waited around, tail lashing back and forth. Soon enough, Skypaw came out with herbs in his mouth. He placed them at Lightningtail's paws and let her eat them.

"If I'm not back by dawn send a patrol out for me," she whispered.

Rainheart dipped his head. "I will."

Nettlepaw saw the deputy walk out of the camp, her steps wobbly and misplaced. All anyone could do was pray that she made it home safely.

--

Lightningstar arrived next morning as the newly made leader of ThunderClan. Her head was held high as she walked into the camp. Nettlepaw could see a glimmer of pride in her amber eyes. She leaped onto the Highledge, ready to make her first announcement as leader.

"Sunpaw, would you please join me here," she meowed to the apprentice who was hunched over her prey. Sunpaw approached the ledge tentatively and jumped on it after further encouragement from the leader.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey gather under the Highledge for a Clan meeting!" Lightningstar yowled.

The Clan cats gathered beneath her, all eyes fixated on their new leader. "As you all know, when Kestrelstar was killed, he hadn't yet assigned a new mentor to Sunpaw. I would like Stoneclaw to please come up here."

Nettlepaw saw his father pad up to the Highledge.

"Stoneclaw, you are ready for a second apprentice. You will continue Sunpaw's training." Lightningstar meowed.

Stoneclaw touched noses with his new apprentice, then they both went back to go and sit in the crowd together.

"I shall now name ThunderClan's new deputy," Lightningstar continued. "I say these words before StarClan, so that they might hear and approve my choice."

She paused for a moment.

"Oakpelt will be the new deputy of ThunderClan."

Murmurs of approval came from the crowd. Lightningstar jumped down from her perch and immediately padded over to the nursery. Nettlepaw was going to follow her, but then he spotted Redpaw, talking to Sunpaw about something. His ears pricked as he moved in closer for a listen.

"Whatever you do, don't hang around Nettlepaw," Redpaw was saying. "He's not worth your time and energy. He's nothing more than a loser."

Rage burned inside of Nettlepaw. He couldn't control himself from leaping at Redpaw as best as he could manage. Redpaw spat as Nettlepaw came down hard on him. He raked his claws down the pudgy apprentice's belly, and gave him a nip on the foreleg. Nettlepaw bit Redpaw behind the ear and smacked him in the face with his massive paw, sending him flying into the side of the warriors den. Redpaw recovered almost immediately and jumped on top of Nettlepaw, scratching and biting furiously.

"Stop it, stop it now!"

Lightningstar bit down on Redpaw's tail and dragged him off of Nettlepaw.

"Redpaw, I'm ashamed of you!" she scolded. "Consider your assessment postponed!"

Redpaw looked shocked. "What?" he meowed in disbelief. "I didn't start it, Nettlepaw did!"

It was true, but Nettlepaw didn't want to say so. He simply dragged himself off to a corner of the camp and began licking whichever wounds he could reach. He'd have to visit Rainheart and Skypaw later to get them checked out further. Redpaw passed by him, pausing momentarily to glare at Nettlepaw with icy hate in his eyes. He passed by, heading towards the warriors den, probably to repair the hole he'd nearly knocked in the wall during the fight.

Nettlepaw padded into the medicine cat's den. Skypaw was there, but Rainheart wasn't. "Skypaw, I got into a little fight, could you use your herby-things and put them on my wounds?" Nettlepaw asked, sitting down.

This time he made quite sure he wasn't about to sit down on his own tail. Redpaw had scratched him up pretty badly. Blood was oozing out of his wounds and onto his ginger pelt. It had been a rather stupid idea to start a fight with an older and more experienced apprentice. Skypaw chewed up a bundle of herbs and pressed the poultice against his wounds. He then scooped up pawfuls of cobwebs and pressed them on as well.

"You just rest here for a moment while I --" Skypaw started.

He was interrupted by a yowl coming from outside the den.

"Whitefeather's been murdered!"


	8. Chapter Seven

**Chapter Seven**

Nettlepaw rushed out of the medicine cat den, fur standing on edge. Whitefeather had been murdered? That couldn't be! Skypaw ran ahead of him and into the nursery, where Whitefeather had been staying ever since her kits had been made apprentices. Nettlepaw bumbled in, nearly knocking over a few onlookers as he squeezed through the entrance. Sure enough, Whitefeather was on the ground, blood leaking out of a nasty-looking wound on her neck. Rainheart was already there, though Nettlepaw was sure he heard him meow something about it being too late to help the she-cat.

Whitefeather's children scrambled into the den, pushing past the crowd and wailing as they saw their mother laying cold on the den floor. Rage was burning beneath the pelts of the warriors. Who could have done something like this? Rainheart picked up Whitefeather and took her towards the center of the camp. Why would StarClan allow something like this to happen? It felt horribly unfair to Nettlepaw. Whitefeather had never done anything to deserve this. She was a loyal Clan cat and a good mother. The cat who had killed her would pay dearly as soon as he or she was found out. Cats were already gathering around her to mourn and share tongues with her one last time.

Nettlepaw narrowed his eyes. "Why?" he growled to himself. "Why would someone do something like this? Whitefeather was just an innocent queen..."

He felt a lump in his throat and he swallowed. He had been very close to the white queen. He used to visit her and her kits almost everyday. There was no reason for anyone to do this to her. He looked at that cats who were gathered around. They too were crushed by Whitefeather's untimely death. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Redpaw sulking outside of the nursery. His blue eyes glinted as he looked up. Nettlepaw could see that he was upset about something – something other than Whitefeather's death. Redpaw didn't look sad. He looked furious. He was staring directly at Nettlepaw with a look that could kill. Nettlepaw felt a pang of fear burning in his chest. He turned away, trying to forget that awful glare.

_He scares me,_ thought Nettlepaw. _Is he really that mad about having his final assessment postponed?_

He felt someone brush up against him and he turned his head. Echopaw was standing there, a look of fear and sadness in her eyes. He knew exactly how she felt. He leaned forward to try and give her a comforting lick, but toppled over and fell into the dirt next to her instead. Echopaw leaped away with a startled yowl. Nettlepaw blinked the dust out of his eyes. He was angry at himself for being such a klutz. A few warriors gathered around him to make sure he was okay.

"Are you alright, Nettlepaw?" asked Skypaw.

Nettlepaw could see that he was extremely worried, and understandably so. No one wanted another death to occur. Not after loosing two beloved Clan members in a matter of a couple days. Nettlepaw struggled to push himself to his paws. He could feel his ears burning with embarrassment. He wanted everyone to go back to sharing tongues with Whitefeather, instead of worrying about him.

"I'm fine," he assured everyone. "It's okay."

Skypaw gave Nettlepaw an extra nudge to help him up.

"Be careful," Skypaw meowed. "I don't want to loose you."

"Thanks, Skypaw," purred Nettlepaw. "I'll be more careful from now on."

Skypaw dipped his head and went back to sharing tongues with Whitefeather for a final time. Nettlepaw sadly lumbered off towards the apprentice den. He would have stayed longer, but he was worried that he'd do something stupid again. He peeked in the den and saw a flash of blue eyes. Startled, he took a few steps back. Redpaw emerged from the dark den, fur bristling and eyes narrowed. Nettlepaw felt the same pang of fear he'd felt earlier. He didn't want to get into another fight with the stronger and more experienced apprentice.

"Redpaw!" he exclaimed. "Why aren't you mourning Whitefeather?"

"I could ask you the same question," the older apprentice snarled.

"Well, I – I," Nettlepaw stammered. He could hardly speak with Redpaw's cold stare resting on him. "I sort of made a bit of a disturbance and thought that it would be best if I just didn't stick around any longer. I didn't want to seem disrespectful."

"You're always making disturbances, aren't you, Nettlepaw?" spat Redpaw. "You always bumble around and mess things up."

"I don't mean to. I guess I'm just clumsy," Nettlepaw meowed quietly.

Redpaw bared his teeth angrily. "Because of you, I have to wait even longer to become a warrior!"

"I'm really sorry about that," Nettlepaw apologized. "I didn't know that Lightningstar would postpone your assessment!"

"Oh, you knew what you were doing!" Redpaw hissed. "You didn't even speak up when she accused me of starting the fight. You started it, and you know it!"

"I just didn't want to get in trouble!" Nettlepaw exclaimed.

"But you were perfectly fine with getting me in trouble for it," meowed Redpaw bitterly.

"I'm really sorry, Redpaw! I really am!"

"Listen, badger belly, if you ever get in my way again, I swear to StarClan, I will kill you," Redpaw threatened. "You'd better watch your back."

Nettlepaw's heart skipped a beat. Redpaw had threatened to kill him. Should he tell someone about this? He looked on in disbelief as Redpaw disappeared into the darkness of the apprentice den. Maybe he didn't really mean it. Maybe it was only a bitter threat. There was a good chance he wouldn't act on it. Either way, Nettlepaw was going to avoid Redpaw as best as he could from then on. He didn't want to tempt fate. He tensed up and backed away from the apprentice den slowly. He turned around to see Echopaw standing there, ears pinned against her head.

"He's not acting normal," she whispered.

Nettlepaw blinked. "Who?"

"Redpaw. I overheard some of your conversation. He's unusually hostile today. Maybe he's just really upset over Whitefeather's death," Echopaw replied.

"He's always like that," Nettlepaw sniffed. "He's never nice to me."

"But I've never seen him act this mean, either," she insisted. "There has to be something wrong with him."

Nettlepaw looked down at his paws. He was debating whether or not to tell her about Redpaw's postponed assessment. He flicked his small tail, inviting her to follow him away from the apprentice den, and well out of Redpaw's earshot. Echopaw followed, her dainty paws making light prints in the mud as she walked. As soon as they were far away, he turned to her and took in a deep breath.

"I know what's wrong with Redpaw, and it's not Whitefeather's death," he sighed.

"What is it?" inquired Echopaw.

"He's really upset about Lightningstar postponing his final assessment. We got into a fight, and she punished him for it," Nettlepaw meowed. "I kind of think he's overreacting a little. I mean, it's only postponed. It doesn't mean he'll never become a warrior."

Echopaw's whiskers drooped. "Oh, that's terrible! I'm having my assessment tomorrow, and I was hoping he would too. I was hoping we could sit vigil together as new warriors."

"Your assessment is tomorrow, Echopaw?" Nettlepaw asked.

"Yes, it is," she confirmed. "But now I'm not as excited for it as I was."

This made Nettlepaw feel slightly sick to his stomach. It was his fault that Redpaw's assessment was postponed, therefore it was his fault that Echopaw was feeling so down. Everything was going so wrong! Why did Kestrelstar and Whitefeather have to die? Everything was changing, and it didn't seem for the better. He looked up and gazed into Echopaw's beautiful amber eyes. She was depressed, and it was mostly his fault, coupled with the fact that a beloved Clan member had died. Nettlepaw wanted to give her a comforting lick, but he didn't want to mess it up like he had last time.

"It's okay, Echopaw," Nettlepaw purred. "Be happy about your final assessment. You're really lucky. I won't be having mine for a while."

_Because I'm the clumsiest apprentice ever to walk the forest, _he thought bitterly.

He was relieved as a pleasant glimmer returned to the tabby she-cat's eyes. Maybe his words of encouragement were helping. He noticed that she was looking in another direction, and followed her gaze. His eyes narrowed as he noticed she was looking at Redpaw. That was the only reason she had a happy glow in her eyes. Nettlepaw turned away and bumbled towards the fresh kill pile. He angrily picked up a chaffinch and dragged it over to a comfortable eating area. He tore at it, swallowing large chunks of food. Why did Redpaw always have to ruin things for him? How could one apprentice be so awful?

Out of the corner of his eye, Nettlepaw could see Skypaw speaking with Rainheart about something. Rainheart had a worried look in his eyes, and he quickly beckoned the medicine cat apprentice to join him inside the den. Nettlepaw was curious. He wanted to find out what was making the old cat so upset. However, out of respect, he kept himself from eavesdropping. He picked out another piece of prey and wolfed it down. After he finished, he set to grooming his pelt. As he was licking himself, he noticed that fur was coming off of him in clumps. Was he sick? Maybe he should see the medicine cats later. It probably wasn't too serious, but it wouldn't hurt to see them about it anyway.

"Hello, Nettlepaw," came a sad meow.

Nettlepaw looked up to see Petalpaw, whiskers drooped and eyes flooded with sadness. He stood up and looked at her sympathetically. Her mother had been very important to her. The white she-cat nuzzled Nettlepaw, burying her head in his fur. He was somewhat startled at first, but he gave her a comforting lick on the head anyway. To his surprise, he didn't mess it up, either. He could just barely hear Petalpaw's muffled kit-like mews. She was hurting him by pressing up against him so hard, but he didn't want to disturb her by mentioning it.

"I can't believe she's gone," mewed Petalpaw. "Why would someone murder her? She was so nice."

"Don't worry, Petalpaw," Nettlepaw murmured. "They'll find out who killed your mother for sure."

Petalpaw pulled back and looked up. "But why?" she meowed. "Why would they kill her? She had no enemies. Or at least, I don't think she did."

"Some cats are just cruel like that," sighed Nettlepaw. "Cats like that deserve to die."

She looked at him adoringly. "Nettlepaw, let's be best friends."

_She wants to be my friend! I'll finally have a true friend! _

Nettlepaw's heart leaped with joy. "Sure thing, Petalpaw!"

Petalpaw gave him a quick lick on the shoulder. "They're about to bury Whitefeather, so I have to go. I'll be back later, though, Nettlepaw."

He watched as she walked away. His heart felt like it was going to pound out of his chest. Petalpaw was being so nice to him. It would be great to have the white she-cat as a best friend. Echopaw was great, but she listened to Redpaw too much. Petalpaw must have ignored the older apprentice's words. At least she wasn't easily wavered, like Echopaw had been. But what if Petalpaw only wanted him as a friend because he'd consoled her? If that was the case, then it was true he didn't have a real friend in the world. But Petalpaw probably wasn't that kind of cat. She was the kind of cat who was genuine. She wouldn't abandon him like Echopaw had.

It was growing dark, and crickets began chirping softly in the grass. Nettlepaw was growing tired, and walked towards the apprentice den. He hoped he wouldn't have another run in with Redpaw. Nettlepaw was sure he'd have nightmares that night because of the older apprentice. What if Redpaw did want to kill him? What if he tried to murder him while he was sleeping that night? Paranoia crept into Nettlepaw's restless mind. He tried to calm himself, but to no avail. He spent the entire night wide awake, not daring to shut his eyes.

--

"I, Lightningstar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice. She has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend her to you as a warrior in her turn," Lightningstar meowed. "Echopaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend your Clan, even at the cost of your life?"

Nettlepaw watched as the noble leader looked at Echopaw. The brown tabby apprentice held her head high and kept her posture straight. With the sunlight hitting her fur, she looked like a shining star.

"I do," Echopaw meowed, dipping her head.

Lightningstar nodded. "Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior name. Echopaw, from this moment you will be known as Echoheart. StarClan honors your courage and your loyalty, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

She rested her muzzled on Echoheart's head, and the new warrior licked Lightningstar's shoulder respectfully. Her amber eyes sparkled as the Clan began cheering for her.

"Echoheart! Echoheart! Echoheart!" they yowled.

Nettlepaw joined in enthusiastically. He noticed that Echoheart was staring in a specific direction. He followed her gaze until Redpaw's hunched-over form came into his sights. The older apprentice was staring bitterly at the ground, and Echoheart looked at him sympathetically. Nettlepaw flicked his ears. Why did she care for him so much? He was always so cruel and prickly. There was nothing to like about him. The crowd began to dissolve, leaving Nettlepaw sitting alone. Petalpaw approached him with a sparkle in her light green eyes.

"Nettlepaw!" she exclaimed. "Would you like to go train with Silvercloud and I? Torntail said he's fine with it."

_She's inviting me to train with her? This is great!_

"I'd love to, Petalpaw!" Nettlepaw purred happily. "Where is Torntail?"

Petalpaw meowed, "He's over with Silvercloud right now. They're waiting for us, come on!"

He began to follow her, but suddenly froze. Did he really want to go with her? She didn't know about how he was failing at training. He didn't want her to see him bumble his way through a session. But he couldn't just tell her no, especially after he'd just agreed to it. What excuse would he use, anyway?

"What are you waiting for, Nettlepaw?" she meowed. "You look like you've seen a dog!"

Nettlepaw looked up, jolting forward as he began to walk again. There was no turning back now. If Petalpaw was going to make fun of him, he'd just have to endure it. Hopefully she wasn't that kind of cat. Not like Redpaw. They followed their mentors out of camp. Nettlepaw took a deep breath. If he wanted to impress Petalpaw, he would have to strive to do his best.

--

Redpaw's ears were pinned flat against his head. "What do you mean you can't train me today?"

Lightningstar's tail flicked impatiently. She'd explained over and over to Redpaw that she was a leader now, and she didn't have the time to train him. She had to spend the day seeking out the cat who murdered Whitefeather.

"You'll just have to wait," she meowed. "You're a fine apprentice. Missing training for a little while isn't going to do you any harm. You're so close to being a warrior, anyway. You know just about everything there is to know when it comes to being one. I'm sorry, Redpaw, I just can't train you right now."

She saw her apprentice shake with fury.

"First you postpone my final assessment, and now you postpone my training!" Redpaw spat angrily. "You don't want me to become a warrior, do you?"

"Of course I do," Lightningstar meowed, narrowing her eyes. "We need loyal warriors to defend the Clan. I assure you, you will be a warrior someday, Redpaw."

"I don't want to wait! I want to be a warrior now! This is all Nettlepaw's fault," he hissed.

"Nettlepaw's fault?" she murmured. "What do you mean by that?"

"Just shut up! It's none of your business," Redpaw growled. "Leave me alone, you stupid old furball."

Lightningstar was taken aback. Her apprentice had never disrespected her like this before. She glared at him sternly. "Redpaw, for your behavior and lack of respect for your leader, your final assessment is further postponed. You must also go and clean the ticks off the elders."

She looked down and noticed that Redpaw had an unsettling look of malice in his eyes.

"I hate you," he snarled.

She shook her head as he walked towards the elders' den. She'd never seen him look so upset. But she wasn't about to take his disrespectful attitude sitting down. He needed to be taught a lesson, and she was going to be the one to teach it to him, one way or another.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Chapter Eight**

A shriek came from the camp guard. WindClan warriors spilled into the clearing, slashing and biting everyone who got in their way. Spottedflower heard the commotion outside and pulled her kits closer to her. She glanced at them, checking to make sure all of them were there. She was horrified to find that one of them was missing. She stood up and looked around, ears pinned against her head. A WindClan warrior darted into the den, nearly trampling a mewling Mosskit. Spottedflower launched herself at the warrior, shredding their ears and scratching at their eyes. More WindClan cats rushed into the nursery, grabbing as many kits as they could carry away. Spottedflower couldn't fight off all of them. She crawled carefully on top of her remaining kits to shield them.

Anger burned deep within her as she watched them leave the nursery, carrying three of the kits away. In the corner of the nursery, she could see a small form, unmoving and lifeless. She stood up and rushed over to the injured kit. It was Brindlekit, the only kit that remained who was truly her own. She grabbed the kit by the scruff of the neck and looked outside. The WindClan warriors had been driven out, and ThunderClan cats were rushing around, checking to see if everyone was alright. Trembling, Spottedflower took her kit over to the medicine cat den. Rainheart was standing inside, fur bristling.

The queen set Brindlekit down on the den floor and took in a shuddering breath. "Rainheart, my kit is hurt! You have to help her!"

Rainheart staggered forward from out of the shadows. As he stepped into the light, Spottedflower could see deep red liquid leaking from a wound on his chest. Her ears flattened. The old medicine cat lurched forward and fell at her paws. Spottedflower grabbed Brindlekit and stepped out.

"Help me, help me!" she shrieked. "Rainheart and my kit are injured!"

Skypaw heard her yowling and rushed over to see if he could do anything to help. He looked from the kit to his wounded mentor, and held his breath. Both of them were severely hurt. He sniffed Brindlekit and his fur stood on end.

"What happened to her?" Skypaw asked. He tried to remain calm, but he could feel his mask of composure beginning to slip.

Spottedflower took in a deep breath. "I didn't see clearly, but I think she might have been trampled. Please, you have to help her!"

Skypaw's ears pricked as he heard a guttural choking noise coming from inside the medicine cat den. He couldn't tend to both his injured mentor and the kit at once. He had to make a decision, and he had to make it quick. He rushed past Rainheart and grabbed a bundle of herbs. He ran out to Brindlekit and began chewing the herbs.

"She's in shock," he informed Spottedflower, "I don't think she's hurt very badly, though her front paw might be sprained – or worse."

"You mean it might be broken?" the queen wailed.

Skypaw's ears flattened. He didn't yet know how to take care of broken bones. He prayed to StarClan that it was only a minor sprain. He sniffed Brindlekit and gave her a few licks. She was so small and delicate that he was surprised nothing worse had happened to her. He examined her front paw and winced. It certainly looked like a break. If he didn't treat it fast, it could get infected, or never heal properly. He desperately wished he knew what to do. All of this was being forced upon him so fast. He carefully opened Brindlekit's mouth and put a dab of chewed-up goldenrod on her tongue. She mewed and struggled, but eventually swallowed.

"I'm going to get some poppy seeds. They'll relax her so that I can examine her further," Skypaw meowed. "I'll also get some thyme to help with the shock."

"Will she be alright?" Spottedflower asked. Her eyes were wide with worry.

Skypaw looked down. "I don't know. I'll do everything I can for her, though."

He walked into the medicine cat den, giving a passing glance to his fallen mentor. He felt terrible about not helping Rainheart, but there was nothing he could do. He heard a noise from his mentor and he looked up from the herbs. It sounded like Rainheart was trying to say something.

"Com-frey," the old cat rasped.

Skypaw blinked. Did Rainheart want him to give comfrey to Brindlekit? He heard his mentor repeat the word, and he grabbed the herb from the pile, along with the thyme and poppy seeds. He carried his bundle out to Brindlekit and crouched down by her side. He chewed the thyme and gave it to the little kit, followed by the comfrey, and finally the poppy seeds to ease her into sleep. Spottedflower peered over his shoulder at the kit.

"I think she'll be alright now," Skypaw meowed. "Just make sure she doesn't move around a lot. It will take a long time for that bone to heal. I think the comfrey will help though..."

_I sure hope it will, _he thought.

He watched the queen gently pick up Brindlekit and breathed a sigh of relief. His moment of tranquility was cut short, however, as he remembered Rainheart was severely wounded. He rushed into the medicine cat den, and let out a wail of dismay as he noticed that the old medicine cat was no longer breathing. He felt guilt in the pit of his stomach. He had chosen to help Brindlekit over Rainheart, and because of it, the medicine cat was dead. Brindlekit hadn't even been in any life-threatening danger! He felt eyes on the back of his head and turned around. Duskpool was standing behind him with a nasty-looking gash on his shoulder.

"Is he – is he dead?" the warrior asked.

Skypaw lowered his head. "Yes, he is."

Duskpool's eyes clouded with grief. Skypaw took another look at the warrior's wound and went to get cobwebs to stop the bleeding. Echoheart entered the den as well. She had scratches on her muzzle and sides. Skypaw went about tending to their wounds. There were so many injured from the fight with WindClan, and he was just an apprentice. Now that Rainheart was dead, all the responsibility would be his – and he didn't even know half of what there was to know! Who would teach him now? Was he supposed to figure it out all by himself? What a terrible medicine cat he'd be if that were the case.

--

Outside of the camp, the training apprentices and their mentors were oblivious to the chaos and death that had come from the attack on their camp. Nettlepaw was desperately trying to impress Petalpaw, though he was sure he was doing an awful job of it. He was almost certain he could hear quiet meows of laughter coming out of the she-cat's mouth. He took in a deep breath and barreled towards his mentor at the highest speed he could muster. Torntail sighed and stepped out of the way, sending him running into a bush. Dazed and leaf-covered, Nettlepaw pushed himself to his paws.

"You're going to have to be faster than that, Nettlepaw," meowed Torntail. "If this were a real battle, you'd be dead by now."

Nettlepaw's ears went flat. "It's not my fault that I'm slow!"

"Perhaps too much milk in the nursery," Torntail suggested to Silvercloud.

The silver she-cat flicked her ears in amusement, but didn't say a word. Nettlepaw wheezed and sat down, making quite sure his tail didn't get caught under his bottom. He was very tired, yet he'd only been training for a short amount of time. He watched as Petalpaw sparred with her mentor. She was good, and she had only just become an apprentice. Nettlepaw could feel his pelt burning with jealousy and embarrassment. Why couldn't he be that good? He was much older than Petalpaw, but she seemed to have more skill than he.

It came his turn to train again, and he found himself striving to do his very best this time. He bunched up his muscles and launched himself forward, knocking Torntail off his paws. It hadn't really been his skill so much as his weight that had sent the calico tom lurching off to the side. But it was still an accomplishment, and he was quite proud.

Petalpaw purred, "Great job, Nettlepaw!"

"Yes, that was very good," Torntail praised. "You're getting better with every training session. If you go on improving like this, you'll be a warrior in no time!"

Nettlepaw's eyes shimmered with delight. He hadn't ever received this much praise before, and it made him feel very good on the inside. Even better, Petalpaw was praising him. In his mind at that moment, she was the greatest.

"Well, I think that's quite enough training for today," Silvercloud meowed. "Let's go back to the camp, now. But if you see any prey on the way, don't hesitate to catch it! Last I checked, the pile was getting very low."

Torntail stretched out, flexing his claws. "I think I'll do that. I'm in the mood for a bit of hunting right now. You all can go on without me, if you'd like."

"I want to hunt," Nettlepaw meowed flatly.

"Well, good, you can come with me, then," purred Torntail. "I can show you a few pointers while we're out. I'll see you and Petalpaw back at camp, Silvercloud."

Silvercloud flicked her tail and turned to head back to camp, leaving Torntail and Nettlepaw alone in the forest. Nettlepaw turned to his mentor, who had a glimmer of approval in his eyes as he looked down at him. It felt good to finally be on the way to becoming a warrior. Maybe he could even become a warrior before Redpaw did. That would sure ruffle that nasty tabby's fur!

"Alright," Torntail meowed, interrupting Nettlepaw's thoughts, "I smell chaffinch in that direction. Watch me as I go for it."

Nettlepaw observed as his mentor dropped into a hunter's crouch. He copied Torntail subconsciously, pressing his belly low to the ground and preparing to spring. He watched as the calico tom crawled forward, and sprang without warning. Nettlepaw heard slight scuffling coming from the bushes. It didn't sound like his mentor was hunting so much as fighting. Perhaps he'd come across a predator that had also spotted the chaffinch. After a few moments, the scuffling stopped. When Torntail didn't emerge from the undergrowth, Nettlepaw began to worry.

He prowled forward, hoping that there wasn't a fox around. He peeked through the bushes and was greeted by a horrific sight. Torntail was laying on the ground next to the corpse of a chaffinch. He was twitching, and blood was spurting from several bite and claw wounds all over his body. Nettlepaw gasped in horror and looked around. He spied a flash of red rustling about in the bushes on the opposite side of the small clearing.

_Fox! _Nettlepaw thought anxiously.

Without thinking, he darted forward and into the bushes where he had spotted the creature. He tumbled forward and landed on top of something. The something let out a meow of shock and pain. Startled, Nettlepaw got up. A paw darted out and knocked him in the forehead, and he fell back, blood dripping into his eyes. It was then that he got a look at the culprit. He could see the outline of a wild-eyed red tabby, blood splattered on it's muzzle and chest. Horror creeped upon him as he realized who it was.

"Redpaw!" he choked out.

But the tabby was already gone. Had Redpaw actually murdered Torntail? It couldn't possibly be. Maybe he was just imagining things. Maybe it really was just a small fox. But no, a fox would have eaten Torntail, not left him there. Nettlepaw knew what he had to do. He rushed back in the direction of camp, as fast as his short legs could carry him. He burst through the entrance, only to find the camp in a state of disarray.

"Torntail is dead!" he wailed loudly.

A hiss came from nearby. "Did WindClan get him, too?"

"What?" Nettlepaw questioned. WindClan must have attacked whilst they were out training.

"WindClan warriors rushed the camp, dozens of them. They took three of Spottedflower's kits, those greedy pieces of foxdung!" Oakpelt explained. He had a terrible look of fury on his worn face.

Nettlepaw cried, "Torntail was murdered!"

Lightningstar approached him, eyes blazing. "By whom, Nettlepaw?"

Nettlepaw opened his mouth to tell her who the culprit was when he caught a glimpse of Redpaw out of the corner of his eye. The older apprentice was glaring at him with malice, just daring him to say something.

"Redpaw!" Nettlepaw blurted out. "I saw him!"

"You mean you saw him murder Torntail?" Lightningstar hissed.

"Well, no, but he was nearby, and he had blood all over him, and –,"

He was cut off in mid-sentence by Lightningstar.

"So you didn't see him, then," she growled. "I'm sorry Nettlepaw, but I can't believe he'd do such a thing. He's just an apprentice, and a fine one at that. Yes, he may be prickly at times, but a murderer he is not."

"But –," Nettlepaw started.

Suddenly, he began to rethink things. Perhaps he had just seen a fox. But it had looked so much like Redpaw. No, it must have been Redpaw. Why didn't Lightingstar just believe him? Sure, his story seemed a little far fetched, and he hadn't actually witnessed the murder, but couldn't they just look into it? He was sure that the ThunderClan leader didn't want to be troubled with things like more murder right after Whitefeather's death and another attack from WindClan.

"Where is his body, Nettlepaw?" asked Oakpelt. "If what you're saying is true, Redpaw's scent will be on the corpse."

"Follow me," Nettlepaw meowed. "He's laying just a little ways away from the clearing where we were training."

The ThunderClan deputy followed Nettlepaw into the woods. When the reached the scene of the murder, Nettlepaw was dismayed to find nothing left of his mentor but bones. The whole area reeked of fox.

"Killed by a fox, then," Oakpelt meowed sadly.

Nettlepaw shook his head. "I could have sworn..."

Oakpelt blinked. "It's alright. It's an easy thing for a young apprentice like you to mistake – but couldn't you smell the fox? Perhaps you should take some time to examine things before making a serious murder accusation."

Nettlepaw's heart sunk. So his mentor truly had been killed by a fox. A wave of sadness crept over him. He had completely neglected mourning whilst caught up in the fury of trying to get back at Redpaw. There was not much of a body to bring back to camp, so they walked away, leaving Torntail's bones scattered across the ground. It was truly a dark day for ThunderClan.

--

Many weeks had passed since the murders and attack. Nettlepaw had been assigned a new mentor – Duskpool. His brother Skypaw had revealed that he was being taught by the other Clan medicine cats. They'd mentor him until he was ready to receive his full name. Nettlepaw sat at the edge of camp, lost in his thoughts. Earlier, Lightningstar had sent Redpaw and Petalpaw out together to hunt, alone. It was somewhat unusual for apprentices to go out alone, but most of the warriors were caught up in guarding against another attack. Nettlepaw longed to go out with them, but because of his lack of fighting skills, he had been confined to camp.

He saw Redpaw and Petalpaw returning to camp, both of them looking cheery. They both had sizable prey in their jaws. Jealousy was churning in the pit of Nettlepaw's stomach. Petalpaw was supposed to be _his _friend, not Redpaw's. He turned away, unable to bare the sight of the two together. He knew deep down that Redpaw and Petalpaw weren't just friends. They were obviously in love. And because of this, two particular cats in the Clan were deeply disappointed. Those two cats were Echoheart and Nettlepaw, and they weren't about to get over it in a hurry, either. Especially not with the gossip that was spreading among the apprentices like wildfire.

It had been said that Petalpaw was carrying Redpaw's kits. It was considered highly unusual for an apprentice to become mates, though there was nothing in the warrior code concerning it, so it wasn't exactly forbidden. Of course, these were mere rumors, with little to no factual support. Echoheart and Nettlepaw deeply hoped that they would remain mere rumors as well. It had all happened so fast – too fast.

"I guess that's just Redpaw. He gets all the she-cats," Echoheart had commented jokingly, trying desperately to hide her utter disappointment.

Nettlepaw felt sorry for her. He also felt sorry for himself. He had feelings for the little white she-cat, and perhaps if he were a little braver, he could express those feels to her. No, he _was_ brave. He made up his mind that very moment – he was going to tell Petalpaw how he felt about her.

And Redpaw had best not interfere.


	10. Chapter Nine

**Chapter Nine**

It was the night of the full moon, and the night that cats from all Clans put aside their differences, and gather at the island. Nettlepaw was trembling with excitement, as he had been one of the ones chosen to go to the gathering. It would be his very first time. He was also planning on telling Petalpaw about his feelings for her before it began. A full moon would make the whole scene perfectly romantic. Lightningstar was standing at the edge of the camp, waiting for whoever wanted to come. Hollyleaf, the oldest she-cat in the Clan, had decided that she wanted to make a trip to the island, as she hadn't been there in seasons. They'd all cautioned her against it, but the stubborn she-cat wouldn't back down.

"I'm just as able as the rest of you young cats," she had spat. "I'll come to the gathering if I want to come to the gathering. I'm _Hollyleaf_, for StarClan's sake!"

And Lightningstar decided to let her go. It was widely rumored that Hollyleaf had the power of convincing and manipulation, so it was no surprise that with just a simple argument the elder could get the leader to agree to her coming along. Hollyleaf walked stiffly towards the edge of the camp where everyone was getting ready to go. She was joined by Redpaw, Sloeberry, and Thrushfeather, each of them looking rather worried. Nettlepaw figured it was because WindClan would be there, and there was always the looming threat of a fight breaking out. If that happened, though, StarClan would cover the moon, and the gathering would be over.

Nettlepaw looked around for Petalpaw. Was she even going to come to the gathering? He let out a sigh of relief as he saw her padding with Echoheart towards the rest of the group. Lightningstar turned to look at them, a hint of worry in her own eyes.

"Alright, let's get going now," the leader meowed, flicking her white tail. "Apprentices, remember not to speak with the WindClan apprentices lest you give secrets away."

"They're not mouse-brains, you know," snorted Hollyleaf.

Lightningstar shot an angry glance at the elder. Nettlepaw was surprised by Lightningstar's lack of respect, but didn't say anything. Hollyleaf just stiffly walked along, joints seeming to creak with every step she took. Nettlepaw followed behind, walking in the old cat's pawprints. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Petalpaw padding next to Redpaw. Nettlepaw's tail lashed angrily and he turned away, not really wanting to witness any more of the scene. His pelt was burning with anger, and he began to walk a little faster. The sooner he could tell Petalpaw about his feelings at the gathering, the better.

They soon arrived at the lake island, and crossed the log to reach the other side. All of the other Clans were already there, waiting impatiently for the ThunderClan cats to take their places. They started to call for the gathering to begin. There was no time to tell Petalpaw before it started, so Nettlepaw would simply have to wait until afterwards, no matter how painful the waiting may be. The leaders yowled for attention and the RiverClan leader, Reedstar, began to speak of her Clan.

"RiverClan is doing well, I suppose," the dark gray cat meowed, sounding rather unsure of herself. "As always, we've been having a bit of trouble with Twolegs, but it'll clear soon."

Hollowstar, the leader of ShadowClan, stepped forward as soon as Reedstar was done speaking. Her muscles rippled under her dark ginger coat and she lifted her head. Nettlepaw thought she looked rather intimidating, but she was actually one of the more peaceful forest leaders at the moment.

"ShadowClan is doing well," she announced. "We have plenty of prey and no trouble with other Clans or Twolegs. We also have a new warrior, Jaggedstreak. We have two new apprentices as well, Tawnypaw and Hawkpaw."

She seemed extremely proud of her Clan's accomplishments, and stepped back to let Lightningstar go next. The Clans began to murmur as they saw the black and white she-cat instead of Kestrelstar.

"I regret to inform everyone that our leader, Kestrelstar, was killed in battle. His death was noble, and he will be remembered for seasons to come. Our medicine cat, Rainheart, was also killed, as many of you may already know. Our medicine cat apprentice is being trained by Lizardtail of ShadowClan and Robinflight of WindClan. We also regret to inform that our noble warrior, Torntail, was killed by a fox. Oh, and our new deputy is Oakpelt. Lastly, we have a new warrior by the name of Echoheart, and three new apprentices."

Nettlepaw heard many cats congratulate Echoheart on her achievement. Lightningstar stepped back, and the attention was turned to – Flamewing? Where was Harestar, the WindClan leader?

Flamewing began, "I also regret to state that our leader, Harestar, passed away no more than a few days ago. He was a fine leader and one who served WindClan for many, many seasons. You may now call me Flamestar, leader of WindClan. I will bring change, hopefully not just for my Clan, but for all Clans."

There was an icy tone in the WindClan cat's voice that sent shivers down Nettlepaw's spine. Flamestar said nothing more, but turned to his warriors and flicked his tail. Before anyone had time to even blink, WindClan cats were upon ThunderClan cats, hissing and scratching with the fury of LionClan. Nettlepaw glanced up at the sky. StarClan had covered the moon. The truce was broken. Nettlepaw felt teeth sink into his flesh and he pulled away frantically. He wasn't ready to fight in a battle, he was just a young apprentice. What was Flamestar thinking? Breaking the truce like that – unforgivable!

He backed away into the bushes. If he tried to fight, he might be killed. Cats from all Clans were swarming around and fighting one another. Blood splattered onto the ground, and yowls of pain echoed across the territories. He heard the sound of Lightningstar's retreat call, and rushed off to follow the ThunderClan cats. It was so chaotic that he could hardly think. His fur was bristling and his green eyes were as wide as two moons. He dashed off towards the ThunderClan camp as fast as he could go. Despite his best efforts, however, he was still trailing far behind the rest of them.

"Hurry up, Nettlepaw!" Echoheart urged.

"I'm doing my best!" he exclaimed in reply. "Stupid WindClan!"

The cats spilled into the Clan, fur bristled and eyes wide. How could Flamestar have been so mousebrained as to start a battle at the gathering. Lightningstar seemed the most upset over the whole thing. She looked around, making sure she had her cats. Nettlepaw noticed a worried look in her eyes.

"Where's Hollyleaf?" she questioned. "And where's Petalpaw?

_Petalpaw!_

Nettlepaw's heartbeat quickened. He hadn't seen the white she-cat since the battle. He hoped to the stars that she hadn't been hurt. He heard a rustle come from the camp entrance and whipped around, hoping it was Petalpaw. Instead it was Hollyleaf, with blood on her muzzle and throat. She didn't get three pawsteps into the camp before collapsing dead on the ground. Wails came from several warriors. If this is what had happened to Hollyleaf, one of the three, there was no hope for Petalpaw.

"Lightningstar!" choked out Nettlepaw. "Can I look for Petalpaw?"

The leader lashed her white tail. "Yes, but take at least two others with you and stay in a tight group!"

Nettlepaw rushed over to Echoheart, who was panting and looked around nervously. She had blood splattered on her muzzle and face, but she didn't seem hurt at all. "Echoheart, will you help me go and look for Petalpaw! Oh, and we need someone else as well..."

At the mention of Petalpaw's name, Echoheart's eyes flashed.

"Why should I help to find that tom-stealing furball?" she spat.

Nettlepaw was taken aback by Echoheart's harsh remark. "Well, because..."

"No, fine. I'll help you. Let me find Redpaw."

She began padding off to find the red tabby. Nettlepaw shook his head and let out a faint cry of 'no, don't', but his plea fell upon deaf ears. Echoheart came back moments later with Redpaw trailing behind her. Nettlepaw let out a sigh of dismay. The last cat he had wanted to take along with Redpaw. At least he had a lot of experience and was a good tracker. The three set out into the woods to retrace their steps back to the island. Petalpaw had to be out there somewhere – dead or alive.

--

"You know, I'll be a WindClan cat got her," Redpaw meowed. "Probably ripped her throat out."

Nettlepaw felt a pang of sorrow in his chest. He didn't want to find Petalpaw with her throat ripped out. He wanted to find her alive so that he could tell her that – that he loved her. Redpaw was just too negative about things. There was no point in listening to him, anyway. Echoheart was padding very close to the red tabby, her fur brushing up against his. He didn't seem to be paying attention to her, but it was obvious she was trying to gain his affection.

"Hold it," Redpaw ordered suddenly. He sniffed the air and looked around. "I smell her."

"Which direction?" Nettlepaw asked excitedly.

Redpaw flicked his tail towards the lakeside. "There, I see her."

A moon beam seemed to be pointed directly at the white she-cat. She was laying on her side, unmoving. Her upper body was partially submerged in water. Nettlepaw swallowed and walked towards her, dread creeping up on him like a dark shadow. He was standing by her side now, looking over her. He turned back to see Echoheart and Redpaw standing on the hill together. He nudged Petalpaw with his nose and noticed that she was still faintly warm. He grabbed her by the scruff of the neck and pulled her out of the water. Her head and side were covered in mud and water, staining her beautiful white pelt.

"Why?" squeaked Nettlepaw. "Why?"

Blood was still dripping out of a wound on her throat though the water had washed much of it away. Her small body was so limp. He dragged her further, and noticed that her neck seemed to have been broken. Nettlepaw's body was trembling. She was just a young cat. She had only just become an apprentice. She didn't deserve a terrible death like this. He sniffed the wound and blinked. It didn't smell like WindClan at all. In fact, it smelled more like ThunderClan. Had someone from his own Clan killed his beloved Petalpaw?

_Redpaw. It must have been him. May the Place of No Stars receive his soul when he _dies_._

"Petalpaw," he wailed bitterly. "Petalpaw! Why must he take everything away from me? She was nice to me! She was kind to me!"

He turned to see if Echoheart and Redpaw were still there, but they weren't. He narrowed his eyes. Where had they gone off to? He turned back to Petalpaw and licked her tenderly on the muzzle. He'd have to bring her back to camp by himself. He wasn't very strong, but then again, she wasn't very large. He carefully bit onto the scruff of her neck and began dragging her back to camp. He did his best to keep leaves and dirt off of her beautiful white fur as he went along. He walked into camp and without a word he left Petalpaw's body in the center of the camp and went to the apprentices' den.

"I'll never be happy again," he murmured to himself. "She was everything that I had wanted in a friend – or a mate. When I get my claws on Redpaw I'll – I'll... I'll kill him..."

His eyes narrowed as he finished his sentence. Little did he know that Sunpaw was in the corner of the den, listening to his every word with wide eyes. As soon as he fell asleep she slipped out of the den quietly and headed towards the center of the camp where cats were mourning for Hollyleaf and Petalpaw. She saw Lightningstar standing there, hardly moving, eyes locked on the two bodies. Her entire body was shaking with rage.

"ThunderClan," the leader was hissing. "Petalpaw has ThunderClan scent on her wounds."

Sunpaw's heart skipped a beat. Had Nettlepaw killed Petalpaw? Had he actually killed her sister? Innocent, sweet little Petalpaw! She swallowed the rising bile in her throat and meowed to get the attention of her leader.

"Lightningstar!" Sunpaw meowed.

Slowly the leader turned to face the tabby apprentice. "Yes, Sunpaw?"

"I think I know who killed Petalpaw," she squeaked. What if she was wrong? There was no room for doubting. She had heard Nettlepaw's threat towards Redpaw. If he was violent enough to think of murdering his own clanmate – maybe he actually had.

"Is that so?" murmured Lightningstar. "Do tell, Sunpaw, do tell."

Sunpaw hesitated momentarily. "Nettlepaw."

Lightningstar narrowed her eyes and exhaled. "Nettlepaw? And why do you say this, Sunpaw?" she asked.

"Because – um – because I heard him – he said something about killing Redpaw and – and then I saw Petalpaw and – I heard you mention something about there being ThunderClan scent on my – on my – sister..." She let out a choking noise. "And I think Nettlepaw did it. I really do. He scared me, Lightningstar! His voice – you should have heard his voice – it was so – so – _disturbing_."

"I've had my suspicions about him," Lightningstar hissed. "But he's innocent until we prove him to be guilty. Do not mention anything about this to anyone. Keep an eye on him – get close to him – and report back to me about his behavior and such."

Sunpaw nodded slowly. Spying. She was going to spy! Granted, it would be on a cat in her own Clan, but she'd never had a responsibility like this. Nettlepaw was going to pay for murdering Petalpaw. He was going to pay for killing her only sister. She walked into the apprentice den and watched him as he slept. Her claws involuntarily unsheathed themselves. A bitter light flashed in her amber eyes. No, she couldn't let her grief control her actions. She was told to gather proof. After all, innocent until proven guilty. Innocent until proven guilty. She'd just have to keep telling herself that.

--

Duskpool fell over into the dust, letting out a meow of laughter. Nettlepaw had barreled into him, knocking him into the dust. Nettlepaw was standing over him, panting and sighing. He was training himself, preparing for the day that Redpaw would attempt to murder _him_. He'd be ready. He'd be the victor in the final battle.

"You're getting much better!" the tabby purred. "Keep up the good work."

Ever since Petalpaw's death, Nettlepaw had been driving himself to learn. He'd become a warrior before Redpaw did if it killed him. He'd be stronger and better. The vile red tabby wouldn't stand a chance against him. He turned to Sunpaw, who was standing next to him, purring her praise. She'd been following him around since Petalpaw's death. They'd come to be very good friends. Echoheart was also nearby. She had no apprentice, but she liked to watch the training sessions in her spare time anyway.

"Great job, Nettlepaw!" Sunpaw praised.

Echoheart nodded. "You're getting much better!"

Nettlepaw lifted his head proudly. He took a step forward, trying to pose as he did. He ended up face down in the dirt. Alright, maybe he hadn't completely gotten rid of his clumsiness, but he was sure trying. Sunpaw went to his side and helped him up. He stood and licked the dirt out of his fur. For a moment he thought he saw an angry shine in Sunpaw's eyes, but it was gone in a flash.

"Say, Nettlepaw, I need to tell you something," Echoheart mewed. "Do you mind coming with me?"

Nettlepaw looked surprised. "I don't mind at all."

They stalked into the bushes together. Sunpaw followed discreetly, watching to make sure that nothing bad happened to Echoheart. If Nettlepaw tried anything – well, she'd finally get her revenge.

"What is it, Echoheart?" Nettlepaw asked as soon as they were away from the clearing.

Echoheart looked back and forth.

"You're a good friend, so I'm going to let you in on a little secret."

Her eyes were alight with a glow of happiness. Nettlepaw tilted his head. What kind of a secret would this be? Echoheart leaned forward and whispered excitedly into Nettlepaw's ear.

"I'm pregnant!"


	11. Chapter Ten

**Chapter Ten**

Nettlepaw didn't know what to say. Echoheart was pregnant... But who was the father? She was gazing at him with a light of happiness in her eyes. He just stared at her. It was obvious she was waiting for him to congratulate her, but he couldn't. Her look of happiness was replaced by a look of annoyance. A breeze blew leaves past the two of them, and for a moment, the forest was as silent and still as a stone.

"Well, aren't you going to say something?" Echoheart urged.

"Um... Congra-- congra – congratulations... I guess." Nettlepaw looked down at his paws, trying to hide his look of utter dismay. "So – er – who's the father?"

"Redpaw!" she announced proudly. "I knew he loved me, I just knew it!"

_Redpaw... _Nettlepaw narrowed his eyes.

"Redpaw? Redpaw! That stupid furball, are you kidding me? You could do so much better than Redpaw, Echoheart! He's just – he's just – ugh!" Nettlepaw stalked off into the woods bitterly, leaving a puzzled Echoheart behind.

Sunpaw followed close behind Nettlepaw, though not too close, as it would give away the fact that she was following him. Nettlepaw was growling and mumbling to himself. Sunpaw could hear him spouting hostile threats directed towards Redpaw. He stopped abruptly, and so did she. There was a rumble of thunder in the sky, and rain began to pour down. Sunpaw hissed and ran back to the camp, trying to avoid being completely soaked. The sky was dark and ominous, with stormy clouds rolling overhead. Sunpaw dashed inside the apprentice den and shook her fur off. If there was one thing she hated it was being wet.

Outside, it was getting late. Patrols were returning home with prey, and it was nearly time to sleep. The camp ground was muddy and slick. Sunpaw went out to grab herself something to eat before the end of the day. Her stomach growled and she picked out a mouse and went to sit somewhere dry with it. She noticed that Nettlepaw hadn't returned yet, and neither had Redpaw. In her heart she feared the worst, but she tried to shake it. As soon as she finished, she'd just ask for permission to go out and bring them home. She swallowed the last bite of prey and looked around for Lightningstar. She spotted the leader standing over by the medicine cat den, talking to Skypaw.

"Lightningstar!" Sunpaw called out.

Lightningstar turned around, excused herself from talking to Skypaw, and walked over towards Sunpaw. Her eyes narrowed and she looked back and forth.

"Did you catch him...?"

Sunpaw shook her head. "No, but Redpaw and Nettlepaw don't seem to be in camp."

The leader looked back and forth, trying to spot the apprentices. She narrowed her eyes when she noticed that they were, in fact, missing.

Sunpaw spoke up. "Can I go look for them?"

Lightningstar shook her head. "They'll be back, Sunpaw. If they're still not here by tomorrow morning, I'll send a patrol out to look for them. It's too dangerous for you to go after them alone, and in this weather. You can keep an eye out for them, though. Alert me if you see them come back."

Sunpaw nodded and walked back to the apprentice den. She could only hope that they'd both come back – alive.

--

Nettlepaw had decided to take a detour towards the camp instead of going back the way he came. He was nearly above the quarry, and carefully walked along it. It was especially dangerous to be up on the ledge in the rain, as the wet made it easier to slip and fall. Suddenly, a hissing noise came from the bushes nearby. Redpaw stepped out, fur soaking wet, and claws extended. Nettlepaw took a slight step back, trying his hardest not to fall off the ledge. Redpaw looked furious. Nettlepaw didn't know whether or attack in self defense or run as fast as he could go.

"I'm still not a warrior, you know," meowed Redpaw. His voice was icy and cold, and laced with irritated pitches. "And whose fault is that? Oh, right – it's yours."

Nettlepaw hissed. Redpaw was taking the fact that he wasn't a warrior yet much too seriously. Sure, Lightningstar had kind of forgotten about him after postponing his ceremony – but it didn't mean he'd never be a warrior!

"Well – murderers don't deserve to be warriors!" Nettlepaw retorted harshly.

Redpaw was taken aback. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you should know," Nettlepaw spat. He took a step towards the red tabby. "You killed Petalpaw – and Torntail! And I bet you killed the others who were murdered, too!"

The older apprentice narrowed his blue eyes. "I did nothing of the sort."

"Yes, you did!" Nettlepaw's angry tone was turning into a cry of sorrow. "You killed Petalpaw! You killed her!"

"You're mouse-brained!" Redpaw snarled. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

Nettlepaw took another step forward. Redpaw cringed slightly, dropping his belly to the ground. Nettlepaw looked like a terror with the lightning illuminating his figure. Redpaw had no choice but to leap at the ginger tabby. He jumped forward, hooking his claws into Nettlepaw's flesh. Nettlepaw threw his head back and slipped onto the ground. He shook Redpaw off and winced.

"Are you crazy, Redpaw?!" Nettlepaw cried. "Look at me, I'm bleeding!"

"You know what, Nettlepaw? Wailing, overweight, mouse-brained _kits _don't deserve to be warriors, either." Redpaw looked poised and ready to leap at Nettlepaw again.

Down below in the camp, Sunpaw could hear the hissing and wailing from above. Her ears fell flat against her head, and she spat. There was no way she could get up there without taking too long. She couldn't only wait to see what would happen. Another crack of lightning split the sky, making her fur bristle. Something bad was going to happen, she could feel it. No one was awake except for her and the camp guards – and because of the loud storm, they were oblivious to the fight.

Nettlepaw took a step back and slipped on a smooth stone, just as Redpaw leaped for him. Redpaw sailed over him, yowling as he did. Nettlepaw whirled around, expecting to see the tabby already on his feet and ready to attack again. But Redpaw wasn't there, and Nettlepaw soon learned why. He looked over the edge, and saw Redpaw laying motionless on the hard ground in the camp. He swallowed bile and ran down to see if the older apprentice was already. That was a long fall, and Redpaw must have been severely injured – or worse.

_A fitting punishment for a murderer... _

No, he couldn't let himself think that way. But he felt little sympathy for the red cat as he scrambled into the camp.

_He killed Petalpaw, and Torntail. He deserves this._

But Redpaw _had _denied killing them. What if Nettlepaw had been wrong in thinking that Redpaw had been the one that had killed his love and his mentor. He walked slowly up to Redpaw's limp body. He looked back and forth. No one must have heard the commotion, as no one was coming out to check and see if there was something wrong. Blood was leaking out of the corner of Redpaw's mouth. He was twitching and shuddering, and his eyes were wide open. As Nettlepaw approached, he let out a squeak of pain.

"Help... Me...," the red tabby choked. "StarClan, it hurts. It hurts..."

Nettlepaw examined the tabby's body. It was twisted in an impossible position. Redpaw choked. More blood oozed out of the corner of his mouth. In his heart, he knew he should go and get Skypaw – but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He was too bitter and upset with Redpaw to want to try and help him.

"Redpaw, I won't help you unless you confess to murdering Petalpaw. So tell me now, Redpaw," Nettlepaw spat angrily. "Did you kill her? Did you kill my Petalpaw?!"

Redpaw turned his gaze towards the ginger tabby. His eyes were foggy and his breathing was growing shallow.

"No," he rasped slowly. "No, I swear it... Please – help... I can't – I can't breathe... Oh, oh, StarClan, it's dark. It's so dark... Why? _Why_?"

Nettlepaw was taken aback. So Redpaw hadn't murdered Petalpaw – then who did? He was jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of the tabby's painful yowling. Suddenly, Redpaw stopped moving. And breathing. Nettlepaw took in a deep breath. He didn't know what to do or say. Was it his fault that Redpaw had died? No – no medicine cat could help him, anyway. Especially not Skypaw, who hadn't even finished his training yet.

All of a sudden, there was a malice-laced hiss from behind him.

"You – you murderer."

Nettlepaw turned around to see Sunpaw, soaking wet and furious, standing behind him.

"You killed him," she continued. "You pushed him!"

"What?" Nettlepaw's eyes shot open. "No I didn't!"

She jumped on him and pinned him down. He had no idea that she was so strong – or maybe he was just exhausted. He squirmed and finally gave up the fight. He was panting and tired. There was no need to fight Sunpaw, anyway. He'd just explain the whole situation to Lightningstar. As if on cue, the white-tailed leader stepped out from her den. She gave Nettlepaw a look of hate unlike any he'd seen before. Without a word to him or Sunpaw, she walked over to her apprentice.

"I should have made him a warrior," she murmured. "I never should have postponed his ceremony..."

She paused for a few moments.

"I ask my warrior ancestors to look down upon this apprentice," Lightningstar meowed. "He has learned the warrior code and has given up his life in – in the service of his Clan. Let StarClan receive him as a warrior. He will be known as... Redstripe."

Nettlepaw blinked. Redpaw hadn't given up his life in the service of his Clan – and he certainly didn't deserve the dying apprentice ceremony! It had all been an accident, but no one believed him when he said so. Lightningstar turned around now, and looked at him with anger and frustration in her eyes. Nettlepaw squirmed again, this time succeeding in throwing Sunpaw off of him. The tabby apprentice landed in mud, hissing and growling. Nettlepaw struggled to push himself to his paws. As soon as he did, he heard a harsh snarl come from Lightningstar.

"You stupid apprentice," she spat angrily. "What in StarClan's name were you thinking? Why, Nettlepaw? Why did you kill all of them?"

Now Nettlepaw was especially confused.

"What are you talking about, Lightningstar?" he gasped. "I haven't done anything wrong!"

"Liar!" Lightningstar growled. "You killed Redpaw, you killed Petalpaw, you killed Whitefeather, you even killed your own mentor!"

Nettlepaw knew he was being falsely accused, but there was nothing he could say to defend his reputation. He looked around as cats began to emerge out of their dens, asking questions. Sunpaw was giving them all the information they needed – false information, anyway. The rain still hadn't let up, and everyone's fur was dripping with water.

"No!" came a shriek. "It's not true! Where is he!"

Echoheart pushed her way through the crowd and rushed towards Redpaw – or Redstripe's body. She let out an agonized wail as she looked at him. Sunpaw came up to her and attempted to comfort her.

"He never even had his warrior ceremony!" Echoheart cried.

Sunpaw shook her head. "Lightningstar preformed the dying apprentice ceremony on him. He went to StarClan as Redstripe."

Echoheart's eyes shot open. "No, no, no!" she screeched. "That's all wrong! Redfrost – he wanted to be named Redfrost! Lightningstar, change his name!"

Lightningstar turned to look at the distraught Echoheart. "I can't do that, Echoheart," she meowed. "He's already dead."

"No!"

Echoheart rushed off into the warriors den, letting out a sorrowful wail as she did. Nettlepaw felt so bad for her. She'd loved Redpaw with all her heart. Not that he knew how she could have loved such an evil, cruel cat. His thoughts were interrupted by Lightningstar's harsh meow.

"Get out of here," the leader growled. "And don't you ever come back. If you do, Nettlepaw, rest assured that you will be _killed_. But before you leave..."

Lightningstar's eyes grew cold and distant. Nettlepaw feared for his health as the raging leader stepped towards him. Instead of clawing him, however, she looked to the pouring skies.

"Spirits of StarClan," she began, "you know every cat by name. I ask you now to take away the name from the cat you see before you, for it no longer stands for what he is."

_Great StarClan, she's taking away my Clan name!_

"Now get out," Lightningstar hissed flatly.

Nettlepaw – or so he had been called up until moments before – wasted no time in dashing out of the camp. His pelt burned with rage, and he ran blindly through the rain. They'd pay for falsely accusing him. They'd pay for stripping him of his name. They'd all pay, one day! He was beginning to grow tired, but he couldn't stop until he was out of the ThunderClan territory. Where would he go? Perhaps ShadowClan would take him in... No, he was tired of the Clans. He was tired of failing at being an apprentice. He was tired of bullying. He was tired of all of it!

It took him all night to make it out of the territories. The rain hadn't let up at all, and he hadn't found any shelter yet. He had come out of the forest at a meadow. He looked around with bleary eyes for a moment before collapsing onto the ground out of pure exhaustion. His whole entire world had gone black.

--

"Is he alright?"

"Shut up, and I'll take a look."

There were distant voices, distorted and echoing. Was he dead? Maybe he was in StarClan. He couldn't open his eyes, or move. He felt as stiff as a tree. He could feel a rough tongue licking at his fur. He continued to attempt to open his eyes, but to no avail.

"Well, he's still breathing," someone meowed. "Though his breathing sounds a little raspy."

"Poor thing, I wonder where he comes from."

"Judging from his size, I'll bet he's just a well-fed kittypet who ran away from home."

"Doubt it. He'd have a collar. And he has fleas. My owners didn't let me get fleas."

"Oh, the poor dear!"

"If you're so concerned about him, Jett, why don't you watch him. I need to go out and catch some prey for old Jonas."

Finally, the ginger tabby could open his eyes. He looked around and spotted three cats talking to one another. One of them was a black-furred she-cat, who seemed especially concerned about something. Another was a cream-colored tom with brown tips on his ears, muzzle, and tail. He had a dull, red, and torn collar around his neck. Lastly, there was a long-haired, orange-red tom.

"Look, his eyes are open!" the black she-cat exclaimed.

The three of them rushed over, and examined him, checking to see if he was alright.

"Hello there, little fellow," the cream-colored tom meowed. "Are you alright?"

The orange cat sniffed his side. "What's your name?"

_My name?_

He didn't have one anymore. Well, he'd just have to come up with one, then. He needed a name that fit how he felt inside. A name that would be remembered by everyone he met. Something short, simple, but memorable.

_Blaze._

"I am Blaze."


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Chapter Eleven**

_Many seasons later..._

Skyflight looked up at the blazing stars in the night sky. Each one of them, he knew, had been a Clan cat at one point. For a moment he wondered – was Nettlepaw up there with them? It'd been many seasons since he'd last seen his brother. He knew that there was only a slight chance that the ginger tabby had been able to survive on his own. He hadn't been a good fighter. He hadn't even been able to stalk his own prey without scaring both it and every other creature within the whole territory. No, there was no way that Nettlepaw could still be alive. He hoped, though, that the exiled apprentice was with StarClan, and hadn't gone to the Place of No Stars for his crimes.

Times were now hard for ThunderClan, even harder then they had been before. Rival Clans had moved into their territory gradually, stealing prey from the weakened warriors. Now there was no hope left for any of them. Even now, as he sat atop the quarry ledge, he could hear them stalking through the forest. Hardly anyone in ThunderClan had eaten in days. Many kits had died during the terrible situation. In Echoheart's first litter, there were only two surviving kits out of the five that had been born. She had named one Redkit, after the alleged father of the kits, Redstripe. Redkit had grown into a fine young warrior by the name of Redfrost, a name requested specifically by Echoheart.

The other was a kit named Nettlekit, a little patch tabby-tortoiseshell she-cat who'd been named after Nettlepaw. She, just like her brother, had grown into a very fine warrior known as Nettlefang. She was an amazing huntress, and could stalk down even the most elusive prey. In ThunderClan's time of starvation and need, she was a beacon of light. Her skills had provided the Clan with a decent amount of prey for many seasons. Recently, however, not even Nettlefang could bring back anything for the starving ThunderClan cats to eat.

Skyflight's train of thought was derailed by the sounds of wailing coming from the camp below. He looked down to see that a group of WindClan warriors had burst into the camp. Thrushfeather was crouched in the middle of camp, her tail wrapped around two small bundles of fur. They were the kits from her third litter, known as Scorchkit and Applekit. There had been two others, but one of them was stillborn, and the other had been carried off by a RiverClan warrior, and was found dead not too far away from the ThunderClan camp. It seemed as though they'd broke the kit's neck by accident in the midst of the chaos.

Now, Skyflight didn't want to see his mother suffer anymore, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. He hadn't learned how to fight yet, and his Clan needed him as a medicine cat. If anything was to happen to him, he didn't yet have an apprentice to take over for him. Even if he did have an apprentice, however, there was doubt that the medicine cats from the other Clans would even take on the cat to teach. In fact, it was surprising that Skyflight had made it through his own training. The medicine cats from other Clans had openly expressed their disgust for him by nearly naming him Skydung. Luckily, the ShadowClan medicine cat was kind enough to come up with the far better name of Skyflight. Of course, anything was better than being stuck with the name 'Skydung'.

"Skyflight, you mouse-brained medicine cat," came a hiss.

He turned to see Sunleaf, amber eyes blazing with rage. She was looking almost impossibly thin, with her ribs showing through her skin and her eyes sunken into her head. She resembled a walking skeleton wearing a ragged pelt. She was clearly upset about something, as her tail was bristling and her fur was standing on end.

"What's wrong, Sunleaf?" Skyflight meowed raspingly.

"What's wrong?" she echoed hollowly. "You're asking what's wrong? Are you _that_ apathetic and uncaring? Your mother is down there being harassed by WindClan warriors, that's what's wrong. Your younger brother and sister are about to be taken away!"

"Why aren't you doing something about it, then?" he asked. His tail lashed back and forth in irritation.

Her eyes snapped open wide. "There's nothing I can do!"

"And if there's nothing that a full grown warrior can do to help, there's certainly nothing that I can do. I haven't fought in moons. The Clan needs me, Sunleaf. If I died, you'd all die as well."

Skyflight's meow now had a challenging tone to it.

"We're all going to die anyway!" wailed Sunleaf. "Ever since RiverClan combined with WindClan, we've had nothing but despair and misery!"

"At least ShadowClan decided not to get themselves involved," Skyflight meowed.

"But who knows? I heard that Hollowstar is dying; what if the next leader decides to ally with RiverClan and WindClan? We could all be destroyed!"

Skyflight was about to open his mouth to reply when he heard a soft, hoarse mew come from some ferns. Out of the bushes stepped his younger sister, Hailshatter. She looked even worse off than Sunleaf did. Her fur was falling off in clumps, even as she walked. Without a word to either Skyflight or Sunleaf, she padded towards the edge of the quarry ledge. Her eyes were bleary and fogged. She had a generally distant look about her.

"Hailshatter?" meowed Skyflight.

Without warning, the she-cat leaped off the ledge and into the quarry below. Skyflight's heart skipped a beat. His sister must have been so delirious that she didn't know which direction she was headed in, or where she was. Panic crept over him, and he sped down, trying to get into the camp as fast as he possibly could. He narrowly brushed pelts with a few WindClan warriors who'd run out of the camp, carrying Applekit and Scorchkit off with them.

When Skyflight reached his sister's broken body it was already much too late for her. Skyflight's younger brother, Smokespots, and his other sister, Creeksplash, were standing there, trying to comfort their distraught mother. Skyflight didn't know if he could take more of the death and grief. He wanted to run away, but he couldn't. His loyalty was to his Clan, and he would stay with his clanmates until the bitter end.

As he leaned over Hailshatter, he began to realize something. He really wasn't all that upset over it. Maybe he was becoming apathetic, just as Sunleaf had said. Death and pain had become a routine thing in his life, and it just didn't matter anymore. Try as he might, he could not muster any sympathy. He looked down at the blood-stained ground. What was he becoming?

"Skyflight," the warrior Barleywhisker meowed. "So sorry about the loss."

"Yeah, sorry about the loss," Thistlestripe echoed.

Neither of them seemed particularly grieved either. The only ones seeming to take it hard were Thrushfeather, Smokespots, and Creeksplash. Everything was going wrong. Everyone was loosing both their minds and emotions. And though they may have been feeling many different things at the time, one silent prayer was mutual among them.

_StarClan save us all._

--

The leaves rustled, and the delicious scent of mouse floated through the air. Through the copse stalked an extremely large and well-muscled ginger tabby, his green eyes blazing like the sun above. He dropped into hunter's crouch and with a mighty leap he landed on the rodent and snapped its neck neatly. He settled down to enjoy the meal, right then and there. As he finished off the last of the meal, he could hear pawsteps and twigs cracking. The scent was friendly, so he didn't bother to prepare himself for a fight. As the ferns parted, he could see clearly who it was.

"Hello, Todd," he greeted.

Todd sat down to lick his long, orange-red fur. "Good afternoon, Blaze," he meowed. "How goes your hunting?"

"It's all good," Blaze replied.

"That's good. Catch anything particularly tasty?" the fox-like cat asked.

"I caught a delicious mouse just a few moments ago," purred Blaze. "I would have shared had you come sooner."

"It's alright," Todd meowed with laughter. "I just ate anyway. Say, have you seen Neko and Jett? I thought I saw them leave the nest area, but they didn't mention where they went."

Blaze paused for a few moments before answering, "I saw Jett drinking down by the creek not too long ago. As for Neko, I haven't seen him."

"He's probably out hunting for himself. Marco told me earlier that I should keep an eye on him, as he's not been feeling too well recently. Neko's too proud to admit it, of course, but it's obvious he's a bit under the weather," Todd meowed.

"Well, if I see him, I'll tell him that you were looking for him," Blaze purred. He stood up and stretched, his long, sharp claws extending as he did.

Todd nodded and with a flick of his bushy tail he went back into the undergrowth. Blaze sat down and began grooming himself daintily. During the seasons he'd spent with the Gang, he'd grown to be a powerful and skilled cat. His fat had slowly turned to muscle, though he was still rather hefty around the belly area. In the Gang he had joined, cats could either hunt for themselves, or for others. When it came to battles, though, they united as one fighting force. The Gang took in misfits of all sorts. Rogues, kittypets, loners – ever a couple cats with Clan lineage. The leader of the Gang was Jonas, an old one-eyed tabby tom-cat. His successor was Marco, a lithe brown tabby tom who claimed that he descended from fearsome BloodClan warriors.

As for the other cats – well, as far as he knew, there were about twenty or thirty of them total. Some of them didn't live in the copse, but rather in the Twolegplace beyond. Blaze didn't know them very well. There were several cats he did know well, however. There was Neko, a former kittypet with a 'purebred bloodline' as he put it. He wore a faded red collar, and was extremely arrogant. Then there was Todd, a cat who could easily be mistaken for a fox. He was abandoned by his mother when he was young, and was one of the first cats to live in the Gang.

There was Fleck, a dappled gray she-cat who seemed to get all the toms. She'd had given birth to many, many litters of kits, who either stuck around or went off into the Twolegplace to start a new life. Willy, a plump black and white tom was one of the ones who'd stuck around with her. He was a very big 'mama's boy', and wouldn't leave her side even if his life depended on it.

Lastly, there was Jett. She was a beautiful, sleek black she-cat with amber eyes. Ever since Blaze had first laid eyes on her, he had had a bit of a crush. Recently, however, he found out that Jett shared his feelings, and the mutual crush turned into a romance. Jett considered Neko one of her best friends, even as close as a brother. Neko was brotherly in return, and also seemed to think of Jett as a sibling.

"Ah, Blaze," came a meow. "How is everything here? Would you like a bite to eat?"

Blaze looked around and saw Marco, the Gang successor standing there. He had a freshly caught vole at his paws.

"Oh, no thanks, Marco," Blaze meowed. "I just ate actually, but it was nice of you to offer."

"Anything for my favorite fighter!" Marco praised happily.

_Favorite fighter?_

Blaze purred in appreciation for the compliment. Over the many seasons, he'd been taught by Jonas and Marco to fight. At first they had him exercise by taking extended walks around the copse and Twolegplace, and then they'd really begun intensive battle training. He'd never seen such fighters as Jonas and Marco. No forest warrior could even near compare to them. They had fighting techniques that Blaze had never seen nor heard of before coming to the Gang.

Everyone treated him so nicely at the copse. He hadn't heard a single serious insult in the whole time he'd been there. They'd joked around with him a bit, be he knew they weren't trying to hurt his feelings when they called him a stupid furball from time to time.

He never wanted to go back to the Clans, where everyone had thought he was hopeless. They'd tossed him out for murder without proof. He'd been teased and stabbed in the back by those who he thought were his friends. He wished the worst upon ThunderClan. Maybe if he hoped enough, they'd all go away.

Forever.

--

Skyflight wearily walked out of the medicine cat den to the clamor of an attack. His eyes grew wide as he looked around. This was the largest attack he'd seen in his lifetime. Cats from both RiverClan and WindClan were spilling into the quarry, slashing at everyone who got in their way. On the Highledge, Skyflight could see Flamestar perched. Lightningstar was at the base, trying to get him to call of the attack.

"Call it off?" Flamestar spat. "No, no. This time, you're all going to _die_. Your weak Clan of kittypets will be no more!"

"You think just because some of us descended from kittypets that we're all weak?" Lightningstar's fur was bristling. "You've got another thing coming to you."

Oakpelt had broken away from a fight to talk with Lightningstar. Skyflight heard him murmur something to her, though he couldn't make out exactly what. Lightningstar turned away, her eyes filled with sadness. All of a sudden, her yowl echoed through the clearing.

"ThunderClan, retreat!"

_Retreat? But we're already at camp._

"Follow me," Lightningstar continued. "We're leaving the forest. It's clear that StarClan has forsaken us."

"No, you can't do that!" Skyflight protested, rushing towards her. "We'll end up just like SkyClan! Generations from now we'll have faded from the minds of the remaining Clans."

"Ah, but you remember SkyClan, don't you?" Lightningstar meowed. "Perhaps we won't fade from every cat's memory."

"I only remember SkyClan because of..."

He was cut off as a WindClan warrior streaked in front of him, battering his muzzle before running off. Blood trickled from the bridge of his nose and he stepped back, horrified. Lightningstar and the rest of the Clan were already running off, dashing out of the quarry and heading far up behind it. He rushed to join them, his paws slipping on the ground a few times before he could get a grip. Fur bristling, he ran to join the others in their escape from the quarry. It was a battle that they just couldn't win.

Skyflight paused as soon as he reached the top of the quarry. He looked down upon his old home, eyes clouded with grief. Why hadn't StarClan warned him of this?

Or maybe they had...


	13. Chapter Twelve

**Chapter Twelve**

"Well, congratulations, Blaze!"

"I'm sure they'll be adorable!"

Blaze beamed and gave a swift lick to his mate, Jett. She had just revealed that she was carrying his kits, and the whole Gang had gathered to celebrate it. Neko brought them both a fresh mouse, and laid it at their paws. His eyes sparkled with delight for his friends. Fleck began to lecture Jett on how to properly care for kits, and talk about what she should expect. Blaze overheard a bit of the conversation, unfortunately for him it was the part about stillborns. His ears folded against his head and he slunk away from the both of them. He hoped nothing happened to any of his offspring. And he wasn't going to be a bad father, either.

He had heard from Fleck that sometimes when toms fathered litters, they would kill the male kits. She claimed it had happened to her more than once, and in fact all of her brothers had been killed by her father. Blaze couldn't even dream of doing something like that. Maybe these feral cats behaved that way, but he was from the forest where kits were the future of the Clan. No tom there would dream of killing newborn kits! Why, if a warrior killed a kit, they would be exiled for sure. Outsider cats were certainly different than the cats of Clans.

All of a sudden, Blaze heard a raspy yowl come from one of the dens. His fur bristled, and he crouched down, approaching the noise with caution. He couldn't smell anything unfamiliar, but there was always room for safety. He peered inside the den and saw the leader of the Gang, Jonas, laying very still on the ground. Sadness washed over Blaze as he realized that the old tabby was dead. There was no sign of a struggle, and no traces of blood anywhere. Blaze knew very well that outsider cats did not receive nine lives, therefore it was amazing that Jonas had lived as long as he had.

"Sleep well," he sighed sadly.

_I'd better tell Marco about this._

He backed out of the den and looked around. No one was in the camp at the moment. They'd all gone out to do whatever they needed to do that day. He sniffed the air, trying to find a trace of Marco's scent. When he'd caught it, he began to trail the second in command. He found Marco sitting under a willow tree by the creek, munching hungrily on what looked to be a water vole.

"Marco!" Blaze meowed.

Marco looked up and greeted Blaze with a happy meow. "Ah, well if it isn't my favorite fighter! What's up with you?"

"I'm afraid I have bad news," Blaze started. "Jonas – is – he's dead."

There was a pause between the two.

"Jonas is dead?" Marco echoed.

"I'm afraid so. I think he simply died of old age or something," informed Blaze. "There was no sign of a fight, and no fur clumps or blood in his den."

He tried to read Marco's face for any sign of expression, but the cat didn't seem to react. He got to his feet and stretched, and without another word to Blaze went off in the direction of camp. Blaze was confused, and followed him. Perhaps Marco simply wanted to check and see if Jonas was dead for himself before reacting. They arrived at camp and Marco dipped his head inside the den. He backed out moments later, a startled look on his face.

"Great Skies, you were right!" he blinked. "I guess I'm leader then. Poor old Jonas. We all knew this was coming, though. I'm sure even he did."

"Congratulations, Marco! You can go to the Moonpool to get your..." Blaze trailed off, remembering that he wasn't in ThunderClan anymore.

Marco tilted his head, puzzled at Blaze's talk of a 'moon pool'. He shrugged it off and licked his muzzle thoughtfully. "Blaze," he meowed.

"Yes?"

"You're going to be my successor."

Blaze's heart nearly skipped a beat. He was going to be Marco's successor? This was the best news he'd ever heard! It was just like being the deputy of a Clan – only this group was much smaller, and he'd have a lot less responsibilities. He dipped his head in respect, and tried to keep himself from trembling with excitement.

"Thank you, Marco." Blaze purred in delight.

"Anything for my favorite fighter," Marco meowed with a nod.

Fleck strutted up to them, after hearing the conversation. Blaze's attention was immediately drawn towards her swollen belly. He'd not noticed too much before, but she could give birth at any time. There were going to be a lot of new members in the Gang.

"Jonas is dead?" Fleck's quavering voice was laced with disbelief. "Is he alright?"

Blaze's whiskers twitched with amusement.

"No, of course he's not alright," Marco rumbled, looking rather amused himself. "He died."

Fleck looked distraught. "Poor Jonas!"

"It was bound to happen. He was ancient," murmured Marco, trying to suppress any sad emotion.

Blaze could tell that inside he was broken up. Marco and Jonas had been together since Marco was a kit. Blaze himself hadn't really known Jonas too well, but he knew that the old one-eyed tabby had been a good leader for many long seasons. Fleck was nearly running around in circles frantically over the Gang leader's death. All these cats had liked and respected their old leader. But Marco would be great at leading, and perhaps he'd even be better than Jonas had been.

"I want Jonas back!" Fleck yowled mournfully. "He was like a father to me!"

"He was like a father to all of us, Fleck," comforted Marco. He placed his tail on the she-cat's shoulder. "But no amount of wailing will bring him back to us. He's probably very happy in the Skies. I'll bet he's hunting starmice and thinking of us."

Fleck calmed down upon hearing them and nodded solemnly.

Blaze, despite having lived with the Gang for a while, hadn't acquired their belief system. They thought that the clouds were where cats went to when they died, and that you could see their shapes up there if you looked hard enough. They also claimed that the stars were mice of the most delicious taste, and the cats who lived in the clouds would grow very big eating them. Thunder was, to them, the rumble of a parted cat's belly. And if they could not find starmice to eat, they would begin to drool, and that was the rain. Lightning was when a starving cloud cat finally caught a starmouse. It was all very silly, and seemed more like tales for kits than a real belief system, but Marco and the others held true to it. Jonas had probably told them these stories when they were very young, and it'd stuck with them.

He was much happier thinking of the stars being cats who watch over them, give signs, and walk in dreams. Powerful cats, not just – _clouds_. Suddenly, he felt a pang of longing. He wondered how ThunderClan was doing. He didn't care for the cruel cats who'd ridiculed and exiled him, but he did wonder about Skyflight, and his parents. And Echoheart. If luck was on his side, however, Sunpaw had died. A horrible death, he hoped. What a traitor.

"Blaze," meowed Fleck, bringing him out of his thoughts. "Congratulations on your position."

"What position?" Neko meowed, coming up to them from the side.

Marco turned to Neko and narrowed his eyes. "Blaze is the new successor. Jonas died."

"Did he now? Mousedung. I wanted the position."

Neko looked both surprised and envious. His glittering eyes, however, showed that he wasn't really angry. Neko probably did deserve the position more than Blaze did – or Todd, even. Blaze wasn't really sure why he had been given the position. He was Marco's favorite, but that would make it unfair for everyone else. No matter. It was a great opportunity and he wasn't about to jeopardize it by questioning Marco's decision.

"Someone fetch Todd so that he can bury Jonas," Marco commanded. "And Fleck, you go out and pick some flowers."

"What kind of flowers?" asked Fleck.

"Any kind, Fleck. Just make sure they're not ugly."

After answering Fleck, Marco turned to Blaze. "In the Gang we mark graves with colorful pebbles and flowers. You can go fetch some pebbles if you'd like. They have quite a few of them down in the creek."

Blaze flicked his tail. "Sure thing, Marco."

He padded off in the direction of the creek. Maybe he'd come across Jett along the way. He could tell her the good and bad news. She'd be pleased that he was the new successor, but since she'd lived with the Gang all her life, she'd also be upset over Jonas' death. Bittersweet moments were such bothers. He came to the creek and began fishing out the bright colored pebbles, and a few of the shimmering white ones as well. After setting them on the shore, he contemplated how he was going to carry them back to camp. He looked around for a large leaf that he could wrap them up in.

After a few moments of observation, he found one and began to set the pebbles in it. When he decided he had enough, he headed back to camp with it. Jett was probably back there already. He emerged from the undergrowth and padded towards the center of the camp, setting down the leaf that contained the pebbles. Marco approached him and sniffed the leaf.

"Ah, good job, Blaze," he purred. "These are very good pebbles!"

"Um, yes. Very good pebbles," repeated Blaze. In truth, he didn't know the difference between a regular pebble and a 'very good pebble'.

Marco picked up the leaf and held it delicately in his jaws. He padded off towards where Todd was burying Jonas. Fleck had arrived with the flowers – most of them appearing to be dried weeds. She was promptly scolded by Marco, and sent out to fetch more. Todd took the pebbles and began arranging them around the grave.

"Look up at the sky," Marco meowed to Blaze. "Jonas is watching us."

Blaze looked up at the clouds and blinked. He didn't see Jonas, he simply saw white, fluffy objects. Puzzled, he looked back at the Gang leader.

"What are you talking about?" he asked.

"That cloud, up there." Marco pointed his tail in the direction of the cloud he was speaking of.

Blaze squinted. He began to make out the vague shape of the old tabby leader, but the moment he blinked it was gone. He'd only imagined the cloud changing shape, he supposed. The others seemed to be fixated on the sky, so he crept away slowly. He didn't get but a few pawsteps before running into Jett, who looked absolutely miserable.

"Why did he have to die?" the she-cat murmured softly. "He raised me since I was a kitten. He raised all of us. If not for him, we wouldn't be alive."

Blaze looked down at his paws. "Well, every cat has to die someday."

"It's not fair, though." Jett lashed her tail angrily.

"Hey, he lived a really long life, didn't he? And he didn't even have nine lives like the leaders back in the Clans!"

"Nine _lives_?" Jett echoed. "That's just a stupid tale for kits. No cat has nine lives."

Blaze was taken aback. He'd never heard such blatant denial of the existence of StarClan, and the nine lives given to the leaders. Surely Jett couldn't naively believe such silly tales such as those of cloud cats and starmice, and not believe in the powerful warriors of StarClan. Her eyes were narrowed, however, and her tone was quite serious.

"Yes, they do. Our leaders did. StarClan gave them each nine lives." Blaze's voice took on a very matter-of-fact tone.

Jett snorted. "You'd have to be mousebrained to believe something like that!"

She paused, noticing that he had taken offense in this. "I'm sorry, Blaze, I didn't mean it like that. I don't think you're mousebrained at all!"

"No, maybe you're right," Blaze meowed. "StarClan never did anything for me, after all. Who's to say they're real. I never saw any proof of their existence. I never saw a leader loose a life. I never had a dream from them. All around me cats were dying, and they didn't do anything to stop it."

Jett looked bewildered. Why was Blaze suddenly denying the existence of the ancestors he'd defended moments earlier?

Blaze narrowed his eyes and spat bitterly.

"StarClan doesn't exist."

--

Skyflight was growing weaker by the moment. ThunderClan had been walking nonstop since they'd been driven out of their territory. Lightningstar was leading them farther and farther away, and with each step, something inside Skyflight died. The last thing he had ever wanted to do in his life is leave the forest. ThunderClan belonged there with the rest of them. This was all WindClan and RiverClan's fault. If not for their greed, ThunderClan could have remained. They'd stolen many of ThunderClan's kits, to both strengthen their Clans, and weaken ThunderClan. They'd invaded the territory and taken all of ThunderClan's food. What had they done to deserve all of this? Why was StarClan not doing anything about it?

He turned his head as he heard a harsh meow come from Sunleaf.

"Robinpaw, hurry up!" she hissed.

The small brown tabby tom looked ready to collapse. He barely took another step before falling to the ground, exhausted. "I can't walk anymore, mama. I want to rest, please. Please let me rest."

Sunleaf narrowed her eyes. "No, get up!"

Robinpaw's looked up at her through glossy orange eyes. "I can't, mama. I'm too tired."

Skyflight gasped inwardly as Sunleaf rushed at her son, grabbed him by the scruff of his neck and yanked him to his feet. Robinpaw let out a shrill squeak of shock and pain. He stumbled forward, desperately trying to walk straight. He didn't get too far without collapsing again.

"I can't do it, mama," Robinpaw breathed. "I'm sorry."

"Sorry catches no prey!" Sunleaf spat. "Get to your paws, now. You're holding everyone up, you worthless piece of foxdung!"

Skyflight had never seen such cruel behavior from a mother in his lifetime. He didn't know how to react. He couldn't start a fight with Sunleaf, but it pained him to see Robinpaw being treated in such a way. Sunleaf's other kit, Shrewpaw, was obviously trying to block out the event that was occurring nearby. She walked on steadily, though her legs were beginning to tremble, and she looked just as tired as her brother did.

Robinpaw struggled to get to his paws. He weakly pushed himself up and lurched forward again. Sunleaf gave him a swift cuff to the ear, claws extended. Once more, Robinpaw squeaked in pain. He attempted to speed up a little, but soon began falling behind again. Each time he did this, Sunleaf slashed him with her claws.

Finally, Skyflight could take no more of this. "Sunleaf, stop it! You're hurting him, can't you see that? He's your own kit, not some sort of prisoner."

"Don't you _dare _tell me what I'm to do and not to do, Skyflight, or I will scratch your eyes out!" Sunleaf yowled in reply.

"He's going to die if you don't stop this! Please, let him rest!" Skyflight pleaded.

Sunleaf only responded by grabbing Robinpaw by the scruff and dragging him along. The apprentice was crying with pain, but no one was listening. No one, except for Skyflight, that is. He closed his eyes and murmured a silent prayer to StarClan. Sunleaf suddenly bounded ahead of him, without Robinpaw. Skyflight looked back to see the poor apprentice laying on the ground, eyes half-closed, mewing pitifully.

He padded up to the undersized tabby. "Robinpaw, are you alright?"

"I have to get up," Robinpaw rasped slowly. "She said she'd hate me if I didn't. She said she'd leave me behind."

Skyflight noticed blood oozing from Robinpaw's wounds. Sunleaf hadn't simply corrected him with light blows, she'd injured him severely. That she-cat was absolutely insane. How could she do this to her own kin? It just wasn't right.

"Robinpaw, I'm going to ask Lightningstar if we can stop. All of you apprentices look absolutely exhausted," Skyflight murmured. "You just wait right here."

"Please talk to mama," Robinpaw choked. "Please tell her not to hate me. Tell her I'm trying! I'm really trying..."

Skyflight felt a deep pang of sympathy in his chest. He turned around and bounded to the head of the crowd. Lightningstar looked up and sniffed the air. She turned in another direction, trying to lead them out of the treacherous and unfamiliar forest.

"Lightningstar, we need to rest. The apprentices – they're exhausted. They could die if we don't take a break, even if it's just a small one." Skyflight's voice had a certain urgency to it.

Lightningstar stopped dead in her tracks. "Skyflight, we're in unfamiliar territory. For all we know, while we're resting we could be attacked by foxes or badgers. We can't stop."

Skyflight narrowed his eyes. "Well, if you're not going to stop, I'm going to gather the apprentices and stay right _here_ with them. We can catch up with you when they've finished resting. We'll simply follow your scent, it'll be easy."

A heavy sigh came from the leader. "Fine, we'll rest for a while. It won't be a long stop, though. We have to keep going."

Skyflight nodded to her and breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Lightningstar."

He ran back to Robinpaw, who was curled up in a small patch of grass, still mewing pathetically. Skyflight curled up next to him, licking his wounds to try and keep them from getting infected. He had no herbs to use, so his tongue would just have to do. Robinpaw fell asleep in no time. Skyflight watched him as he slept peacefully.

_We've got to find a camp soon. There's no way the apprentices can keep this up for much longer._


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Chapter Thirteen**

Skyflight closed his eyes, trying his hardest to fall asleep. He could feel Robinpaw breathing next to him, and his steady heartbeat. It reminded him of when he used to curl up with his brother and take naps, when they were very young. He began to relax, and drifted off into a slumber. No dreams came for quite some time, and it worried him. But before his anxiety could awaken him, a jet black cat appeared in front of him, eyes glowing. It was Hollyleaf, looking much younger and healthier. He bounded towards her, desperate for some sign.

"I've come very far," she meowed. "It takes longer to find you the further you go from the territories. Soon, StarClan will not be able to watch you."

Skyflight was horrified. "What do you mean? StarClan always watches us!"

"You've gone too far. This is the last time StarClan will speak to ThunderClan, forever." Hollyleaf sounded very solemn. Her face held a grave expression, and she gazed at him through sorrowful eyes.

This came as a shock to Skyflight. He shook his head, fur bristling. "You can't do that! StarClan cannot forsaken us, we _need _you."

"StarClan is weak." This voice did not come from Hollyleaf.

A calico stepped from the shadows, his eyes blazing wildly. "StarClan couldn't help you even if they could still follow you."

"Who are you?" gasped Skyflight. He took a step back, frightened.

"Sol!" Hollyleaf spat angrily. "Get out of here!"

"You head further and further into the lands watched by the dark ones. Can't you see? The stars are fading," Sol meowed smoothly. He looked up at the sky.

Skyflight followed his gaze and noticed that the stars were indeed fading. He could hardly see them through the thick tangles of tree branches, and even through the gaps it was clear that the stars were slowly loosing their light. Or at least, they didn't shine as brightly as they had over the Clan territories. He looked down, sick to his stomach. What was going on?

Hollyleaf's hiss echoed all around the dark forest. "Don't listen to him, Skyflight, he's trying to deceive you!"

"You know as well as I do that that's not true, Hollyleaf," Sol murmured. His voice was still steady and calm. "This forest is watched by the No Stars."

"You mean," Skyflight paused in realization, "The Place of No Stars is right over us?"

Sol nodded.

Hollyleaf's lip curled and she snarled again. "Stop it, Sol!"

"What are we going to do?" wailed Skyflight. "Our ancestors can't follow us here, and the only cats who can watch over us are evil!"

Sol shrugged apathetically. "StarClan can't do anything for you anyway."

Hollyleaf dropped into a crouch. "I'll _show _you what StarClan can do, you fleabitten rogue! Your powers are of no use to you here."

"Neither are yours," Sol informed her.

Skyflight dug his claws into the ground. "There has to be something you can do. StarClan can't abandon us, especially not in this time. Cats are going crazy from the pressure. You should have seen what Sunleaf did to her own kit – it was horrible!" He looked down at his paws. "Please, at least give me a prophecy or something."

"StarClan warned you of this a long time ago," Hollyleaf meowed. "They sent you dreams. You have to wait for the fire that will save your Clan."

"What – do you mean _Firestar_?" Skyflight had a look of unparalleled confusion. Firestar couldn't save them; the legendary cat had been dead for seasons.

Hollyleaf murmured, "Jayfeather sent you a prophecy, am I correct?"

Sol snorted, and opened his mouth to say something. Hollyleaf quickly cut him off before he could.

"Water will become the fire, flames will rise from ashes, and blood will cover the ground. That's what he told you. Skyflight, Jayfeather was lying to you."

Skyflight's jaw dropped agape. "He was _lying_?"

Hollyleaf nodded reluctantly. "Until recently, StarClan had known nothing about ThunderClan's fate aside from the fact that a time of darkness was coming. But we have a prophecy now."

"No, that can't be. Water will become the fire... Wasn't that RiverClan teaming up with Flamestar? They combined their Clan, that had to have been it. Flames will rise from ashes... I can't say I'm too sure about that, though. And blood has covered the ground, so much blood!" Skyflight was utterly distraught. StarClan couldn't have lied to him.

Hollyleaf narrowed her eyes. "I suppose it could be interpreted that way, but I can assure you that Jayfeather would have to have..."

Her eyes shot open. "He didn't!"

"He did," Sol meowed darkly.

"He's not supposed to meddle with things like that," she spat. "They warned him time and time again. He's got to stop going where he isn't welcome!"

Skyflight looked at Sol, and then back at Hollyleaf. "What did Jayfeather do?" he asked.

"It's none of your business," snapped Hollyleaf. Skyflight was taken aback by her tone. She realized this, and her fur relaxed. "I wish I could tell you, but I can't. What I can tell you is that there will be a cat who will either save or destroy ThunderClan."

"What do you mean by save or destroy?" Skyflight's fur bristled. "We don't need to be destroyed, we need to be saved!"

"The cat will make their own choice. We cannot manipulate their decision," Hollyleaf answered.

Sol snorted yet again. "Yes, we can. We just _won't_."

She glared at him angrily. "As I said, we cannot manipulate their decision, but I will see what I can do. Goodbye, now, Skyflight."

"Goodbye? But after this I can never speak to you again!" choked Skyflight. "Isn't there anything else you can say? Can't you give us some advice?"

Hollyleaf shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Skyflight. I can't stay any longer. The only advice I can give you is stay true to the warrior code, and don't forget us."

Once more, Sol let out a snort of disgust. Neither of them said anymore, however, and they faded into the darkness. As soon as they were gone, Skyflight could see glowing eyes staring at him from all corners of the forest. He felt a shiver go down his spine, and shut his eyes tight. When he opened them, he found himself back in the real world, still curled next to Robinpaw. Lightningstar was standing over him, eyes narrowed.

"It's time to start moving again," the leader meowed. "Help Oakpelt and I wake the others."

Skyflight didn't respond. His face was solemn, and he stared blankly.

"Is something wrong?" questioned Lightningstar.

"StarClan has left us." Skyflight's meow was monotonous.

Lightningstar's eyes widened. "What do you mean they left us?"

"They've forsaken us. I spoke to them in a dream."

The white-tailed she-cat let out a hiss of anger and frustration. "What have we done to deserve this? We need our warrior ancestors now more than ever, and they leave us? Curse them, then. Curse all of them!" And with that she rounded and went to wake up more cats.

Robinpaw was jolted awake by Lightningstar's harsh meow. As he opened his eyes, Skyflight could see that he was still exhausted.

"How are you feeling?" Skyflight meowed softly. He strained to hear the apprentice's raspy reply.

"Sad." Robinpaw turned away from the medicine cat, and looked in the direction of Sunleaf. "Have you talked to mama yet?"

"No, but I will," promised Skyflight. "Just let me wake a few more cats up. We're going to be going again, soon."

Robinpaw blinked. "But I'm so tired. I want to sleep some more, please!"

"I'm sorry, Robinpaw. If it was up to me, I'd let you sleep, but Lightningstar wants us to get going," Skyflight meowed.

The apprentice turned away with a sigh. Skyflight took one last look at him before he pushed himself to his paws and went to go wake the nearest cat. It was Sloeberry, sleeping softly and soundly. Skyflight nudged him a little bit, meowing his name. The warrior woke up, letting out a bothered hiss.

"Sorry, Sloeberry. Lightningstar wants us to start moving again, soon," apologized Skyflight. "Could you help wake the others?"

"No problem," rumbled Sloeberry. "I wasn't having that great of a dream anyway."

"How could one have a good dream in this situation?" Skyflight shrugged. "You're lucky to have dreamed at all, really."

He proceeded to walk over to Daisypaw, a mottled brown calico. She was one of Brindlefur and Thistlestripe's four kits, and was generally well-behaved and calm. Next to her slept her younger brother, Wrenpaw, a red and white tabby tom. Skyflight almost didn't want to wake them, for they looked so peaceful, but he knew that the Clan would have to find a suitable camp by nightfall if they all wanted to survive.

"Daisypaw, Wrenpaw," Skyflight meowed, "It's time to get up!"

Daisypaw opened her cool blue eyes slowly. She murmured something that Skyflight couldn't understand, and then closed them again.

"Daisypaw!" Skyflight meowed much louder this time.

The calico apprentice was startled awake, and jumped to her paws. Her fur bristled with fright. She relaxed as soon as she saw the medicine cat looking at her through amused green eyes. "Oh, sorry, Skyflight," she apologized. "I thought we were under attack or something."

Wrenpaw let out a squeak and stretched. "Where is the sky?" he asked suddenly.

Skyflight looked upwards. Sure enough, the sky was obscured by tangles of branches, just as it had been in his dream. His fur bristled, and he looked back down at Wrenpaw.

"Oh, it's still there, I'm sure," Skyflight meowed. "We just can't see it, that's all."

This seemed to reassure Wrenpaw, who bounded off to go wake his other two siblings. Suddenly, Redfrost came bounding into the grassy area, a look of complete relief on his face. "I've found the perfect camp! It's just beyond those trees, and it's got everything we need. There's a stream for water, and old burrows to make nests in." The red-brown tabby warrior seemed extremely pleased with himself.

Lightningstar rushed up to him. "That's perfect, Redfrost. Everyone, come on! There's a possible new camp just beyond."

Yowls of excitement came from all around. Echoheart was especially proud of her kit, and gave him a lick on the shoulder. Nettlefang seemed somewhat bothered by this. Skyflight knew it was because Echoheart had always favored Redfrost more than Nettlefang. The tortoiseshell warrior had done all she could to gain the favor of her mother, including becoming ThunderClan's most skilled hunter. All of it seemed to be in vain, however, as at the end of the day, Redfrost was still Echoheart's favorite offspring.

"Let's get going, then," Lightningstar commanded. "Maybe StarClan hasn't quite forsaken us..."

--

Blaze slept peacefully. Never a bad dream did he have ever since he joined the Gang. No, there actually had been a few at first. When he had arrived, reoccurring dreams of Redpaw's death had played over in his mind. But aside from that, his dreams had been fairly blissful. He was in an open field, chasing insects and rolling around. He pushed his nose through some tall grass and came face to face with a jet black cat. Startled, he jumped backwards.

"Who are you?" he stammered awkwardly.

"You don't recognize me then, Nettlepaw?" the black cat meowed. "What a shame."

Upon hearing the name Nettlepaw, Blaze cringed. "That's not my name. I am Blaze, and I belong to the Gang that lives in the copse."

"Mousedung!" spat the cat. "I know who you really are. My name is Hollyleaf, do you remember now?"

Blaze's green eyes widened with realization. "Hollyleaf! You look so different – so much younger."

"I don't know whether to take that as an _insult _or a _compliment_." She tilted her head and twitched her whiskers.

"Fancy dreaming of you, Hollyleaf," meowed Blaze in amusement. "I've dreamed of the others a lot, but never of you!"

Hollyleaf blinked. "What do you mean by that? Are you saying I'm nothing more than a dream?"

"Of course. What else would you be?"

Without warning, a black fog swirled around Hollyleaf, and her eyes glowed. She let out a shriek of horror as the darkness began to swallow her. Blaze was disturbed by this. Was he having another nightmare, after such a length of peace? A voice echoed loudly in his thoughts. It sounded like his own meow, only distorted and warped.

_'Go back to ThunderClan,' _said the voice. _'Darkness and blood are washing away even the brightest of stars. They cannot save themselves.'_

Blaze woke himself up immediately and looked around. Much to his relief, he was back in his den. There were no ghosts or creepy voices to plague him now. Why did the voice in his dream tell him to go back to ThunderClan? He had no desire to see them again... Well, maybe deep down inside, but should he really act on it? What would Marco say? He couldn't go on any long journey and leave his friends behind.

Something was burning down in his chest. His mind continued to pressure him to go back to ThunderClan. He stretched and walked out of the den, looking around. It was nearly dawn, and when the dawn came he could talk to the other members of the Gang about going off to see ThunderClan. If he didn't, his mind would never stop plaguing him with the idea.

But wait. Lightningstar said that if he ever set paw on ThunderClan territory again, he'd be killed. There was no possible way he could go back. Or maybe she'd forgotten. Maybe they'd all forgotten about him. It was a chance he'd have to take.

He spied Marco out of the corner of his eye, and padded up to him. "Marco," he meowed. "I have something I need to tell you."

"Ah, good morning my favorite fighter," Marco purred. "What is it? Is something wrong? You look a little distraught."

"I need to visit some cats from my past. ThunderClan cats, that is. I may have to go away for a long time," Blaze informed him. "It may be a long and lonely journey, but if I don't go, I'll never stop thinking about it."

Marco didn't respond for a few moments, simply staring at Blaze. "Why would it be a long and lonely journey?" he meowed after his pause. "I'm coming with you."

"What?"

"In fact, we'll all come with you. I'm sure everyone would like the chance to learn about those Clan cats you used to be with. It'll be entertaining, I'm sure. I'll go organize everyone, and we can be on our way in no time!"

This wasn't what Blaze was expecting, but there was no reason to object. Traveling in a group would certainly be safer than traveling by himself. He nodded at Marco, and flicked his ears. "That sounds good, Marco," he meowed. "But I'm worried about Jett coming along, and Fleck, too. They're both carrying kits, and it might be a rough journey for them."

"Those two? They're tough, they'll make it," shrugged the brown tabby.

Blaze didn't think it was a good idea to bring them along at all. Fleck could give birth any day, and he certainly didn't want Jett to loose any of her kits. But Marco was the leader, and he'd decide what to do and what not to do. If he wanted to bring the two she-cats along, there was nothing he could do to stop them. He could only hope that nothing bad would happen to either of them. Marco's decisions were often rash and reckless, and caused concern in the Gang. So far, though, nothing terribly bad had come of them, though there had been some close calls.

A few moons back, Jonas had put Marco in temporary charge when a wave of sickness struck him and several others, rendering them useless for a while. There weren't enough cats out hunting for food, so Marco had come up with the idea to steal it from a local Twoleg. The result was all of them nearly being turned into dog chow, and a cat named Tsuki being carted off to the pound. They did manage to get the food, however, and feasted well on fresh meat and kibble for days to come.

"If you insist," sighed Blaze.

"Right, I'll go fetch them now and tell them what we're doing."

Marco rushed off to do so, leaving Blaze alone in the center of the camp. Blaze was left to wonder if he was doing the right think or not. If any cat died during the journey, he'd never forgive himself.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

**Chapter Fourteen**

Nothing had gone right since ThunderClan set paw in their new camp. Sloeberry had been severely injured by a badger while exploring, and was not expected to recover from it. He was in the medicine cat's den with Skyflight watching over him. He couldn't move, let alone say anything. And Dawnpaw, one of the apprentices, had fallen down a steep hill and into a tangle of thorn bushes and brambles. She hadn't been seen since, though from time to time she could be heard mewling pitifully. Her parents, Brindlefur and Thistlestripe were frantic, and several warrior were trying to devise a plan to get her out of there.

Skyflight examined Sloeberry thoroughly. The black and white warrior couldn't hold on much longer. With a pang of anxiety Skyflight realized that if he died, there would be nowhere for him to go. Would he end up in the Place of No Stars even though he hadn't done anything wrong? That was no reward for a loyal warrior. Skyflight shivered. The air suddenly felt so much colder, and what little he could see of the sky looked so much darker. He looked down at the ground, trying to get a grip on himself. It was just his imagination. The middle of the day wouldn't be this cold and dark. It shouldn't be. He was imagining... or there was something terribly wrong with this territory.

Without warning, Sloeberry let out a bloodcurdling yowl. His eyes shot open and his claws extended fully. Skyflight jumped back, alarmed. For a moment, he thought he could see a certain smoke-like darkness rising from the ground, covering Sloeberry's body. He shook his head, and the smoke was gone. Sloeberry let out a final, raspy breath before closing his eyes for the last time. Skyflight's light gray fur was bristled, and he ran out of the makeshift medicine cat den, not looking back.

"Skyflight, what's wrong?" exclaimed Lightningstar as the medicine cat rushed past her. She could see the terrified look in his pale green eyes.

Skyflight slid to a halt. "Sloeberry's – dead – something is – wrong – we've got to – leave this place!" he breathed. "There's too much – darkness!"

Lightningstar stared at him. He could tell that even she had some doubts about living there. Finally, much to Skyflight's dismay, she shook her head. "No, I won't go any further. Here is where we're going to stay. You'll just have to get used to it. It's different, yes, but there's nothing – sinister – lurking in the shadows here. Now, why don't you go and see if you can find some herbs?" Her tone made it sound as though she considered him more of an apprentice than a full medicine cat.

He wasn't about to disobey his leader, though he wished he could argue his point further. He glanced over at the dark, twisted forest. Though he didn't want to go in there alone, everyone else was occupied with more important matters. Skyflight took in a deep breath and began to crawl through the trees. It was like a maze of obstacles, with vines and dead branches blocking his path.

Skyflight stopped dead in his tracks. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen the flash of a cat's night-eyes glowing in the darkness. The strangest feeling of dread and sickness crept over him. Bile rose in his throat, and he struggled to keep his earlier meal down. Perhaps it was just one of the ThunderClan warriors out hunting.

Or maybe the Place of No Stars wasn't just above him.

Maybe this _was _the legendary Dark Forest.

"No!" he spat out loud. His tail lashed violently. "I won't believe something like that. It's just a normal forest, only scarier."

But the wind carried a murmur that nearly left him in shock. "Ashes to ashes, darkness to darkness." came the distorted hiss.

Skyflight pressed his body against the ground. Standing right in front of him was the ghostly figure of a cat, blood pouring out of a wound on their neck. Its eyes flashed a sinister color of red, and as it stepped forward, Skyflight could smell the acrid stench of death.

"W-who are you?" stammered Skyflight, struggling to get the words out. "Y-you're not from StarClan, I know that much..."

"I am Ashes!" The cat's meow sounded more like a ghostly wail; a terrible culmination of all pitches and distortion. "I am darkness! I am your worst dreams! I am death! I am the destruction of – I am – I am..." The cat then let out a shrieking meow of laughter.

Skyflight wished he were dreaming. He even wished he were hallucinating. This was all too real. No, he was a medicine cat. He'd have to face this. With all the bravery and strength he could muster, he pushed himself to his paws. Looking at the ghost cat directly in the eyes, he hissed. "You have no power over me." He paused for a moment. "You're _dead_."

The fiery red light died from the ghost cat's eyes. They turned a placid shade of dark blue, and the cat's expression changed altogether. "Sq—Squirrelflight!" stammered the cat, its meow still distorted. "Squirrelflight, why did you do this to me? Blood... Bleeding onto the stones... I can't understand how any of you failed to see the blood! My – can't breathe – no, Jayfeather – the power of the stars, and the... And the..."

Skyflight stepped back. The cat's eyes began to glow bright red again. At that moment, he just wanted to run. He turned around, but didn't get far before feeling the sting of claws raking down his sides.

"Stop!" wailed the cat. "They'll get you too! All of you! They hide in shadows, they destroy the light." A fog of darkness began to wash over the ghost cat. "Save me!"

Skyflight shook his head and stepped back, blood dripping from his deep wounds. The darkness began to swallow the ghost cat, surrounding it and slowly making its form fade.

"**Save me**!" This time the cat's horrible, shrieking plea for help sounded almost pained. "No!"

At that, Skyflight dashed off through the trees, not knowing which direction he was headed in. He just wanted to get away. He wanted to get back to the new ThunderClan camp. Oh, how he wished all of this was just a bad dream. He ran until he was exhausted, still lost in the evil forest. Blood was dripping down his sides and onto the ground. What's worse was the blood was almost – _black _in color, and it smelled like decaying flesh.

He groaned and looked around, panting. There was no light, except for one shining beam. It was shining directly over a beautiful, purple flower. He stepped towards it, mesmerized. How could something so pretty grow in such a dark place. He continued to make his way towards it. As he grew closer, he heard the repeated echo of the ghost cat's final word to him echoing in his mind. _No!_

Skyflight stopped where he stood, still looking at the flower. A single petal dropped from it, and a breeze blew it in his direction. It smelled sweet, like nothing he'd ever scented before. Yet, there was something wrong. He looked around in every direction, seeing nothing but shadows... shadows that looked a lot like cats.

"Like it?" A sinister hiss echoed around him. "So beautiful, so innocent..."

Startled, Skyflight jerked back again. Blood splashed from his ever-open wounds and onto the ground. As it did, the shadows morphed into the standing shapes of cats. They were nothing but silhouettes with brightly glowing eyes. Simply looking at them made the worst feeling of dread wash over him. Out of all of them, though, one cat stood out. It was a white she-cat, her pelt glowing like the moonlight, and her green eyes shining brightly. But darkness surrounded her, swirling and twisting in some sort of horrific dance. Where had he seen this image before? It all looked so familiar... This _cat_ seemed familiar...

One of the shadow cats meowed, sounding more like a venomous snake than a feline. "Such a pretty petal, isn't she?"

Skyflight's eyes snapped open wide. "Petalpaw!"

The she-cat looked relieved, taking a step forward. "Skyflight, you remember me. Please, you _have_ to help me."

_No! There's something wrong with this. I can't trust this cat – I can't trust any of these cats, _thought Skyflight.

"Please, just let me go back to ThunderClan. I don't know if I can take anymore of this. It's too unnatural," Skyflight begged. "I don't know who – or _what _you all are, but I know that you're evil."

Petalpaw shook her head. "Not me, Skyflight," she murmured. "I'm on your side."

He narrowed his eyes. "How do you know my medicine cat name? Last I saw you, I was Skypaw."

A snarl came from one of the silhouetted cats. Petalpaw narrowed her eyes. Skyflight noticed that the flower the light had been shining down on was beginning to wither, and as it did, Petalpaw was beginning to fade.

"You're _not _Petalpaw," Skyflight meowed confidently.

Petalpaw, or whatever was pretending to be Petalpaw, glared at him with malice. "But I am, Skyflight! I am! If you don't rescue me from here, I'll fade away forever. I am – a withering flower..." Her gaze softened again.

"No." Skyflight shook his head. "I won't help you. I don't trust you."

The white she-cat bared her teeth. "Then you'll never get out of here alive!" She shifted into one of the shadow cats, and the flower faded. She yowled, sounding just as ghostly as the other cat had before. She jumped on Skyflight, as did many of the other shadow cats. He panicked, and scratched wildly at them, but to no avail. Every time he tried to injure them, his claws went right through them. It was though they were illusions of some sort.

Before he knew it, he was overpowered and pressed against the ground, razor sharp claws at his throat. The silhouette cat which had been masquerading as Petalpaw stood over him, grinning madly. "I hate to destroy you, Skyflight," she hissed, her meow sounded distorted and demonic, "but you chose incorrectly."

She raised her paw in the air, claws extended, prepared to deliver a killing blow.

--

Blaze stared at the empty quarry. There wasn't a single cat there – save for a few RiverClan warriors sharing a piece of prey under the shade of the Highledge. He couldn't imagine what had happened. Had they all been killed? No, it couldn't be. But where had they all gone? Had the other Clans driven them out of the forest? He'd never find them!

"For some reason, I expected a lot more cats," Neko commented, looking around.

Jett narrowed her eyes. "Something is wrong."

"Where have they gone?" Blaze whispered. "They're not here."

"Something wrong, Blaze?" Marco asked, coming up to Blaze's side.

"Yes, somethings wrong!" he replied, his fur bristling. "My Clan was supposed to be here, but they're not. I don't know where they've gone – I can only fear the worst." In the back of his mind, he almost felt as though they deserved it for their treatment of him. But still, there were supposed to be four Clans in the forest, not three. That was how it had always been. Now he wished he hadn't hoped for them to go away, or be destroyed. His wish had come true, in the worst way.

Jett brushed her cheek against her mate's shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Blaze. I know that the Clans were an important part of your past."

"No, I'm going to find them. I'm determined to. They must have gone in that direction." Blaze flicked his tail towards past the quarry. "We're going after them."

Fleck and Willy let out exasperated meows. "I don't think I can take much more of this!" the speckled she-cat rasped.

"My paws are sore!" complained Willy.

"Well, we can't rest here. It's clear that RiverClan and WindClan have claimed this territory for themselves. If we stay around, they'll tear us to shreds. I can smell their disgusting scents all over the place." Blaze looked especially aggravated. "Come on, they couldn't have gone far. I can still just barely smell the ThunderClan scent."

He started walking, much to the agitation of Fleck and Willy. They walked down through the quarry, and were hissed at by the two RiverClan warriors. Not paying attention to their threats, they kept on walking. Despite their initial aggression, the RiverClan warriors realized that they were just passing through and let them go on. Blaze deeply wished he could let poor Fleck rest. They'd been walking without little rest for the past few days. And with her about to give birth to kits, it couldn't be healthy. As soon as they got out of the ThunderClan territory, they'd rest. He'd make sure of that.

"Are we there yet?" asked Neko, yawning. "I need a nap, and my fur itches. I think I might have picked up a tick in that field the other day."

"Oh, come on, Neko," purred Jett. "You complain too much."

The cream-colored cat blinked. "Maybe so, but you have to think of poor Fleck. She must be utterly exhausted, and with her in her condition..."

"I promise we'll stop as soon as we get out of this territory," Blaze meowed. "It's only a matter of time. I don't think it goes on too far past the camp." He looked up at the horizon. The trees seemed to stretch on forever. He didn't know where the ThunderClan territory stopped and the unknown territory began. He was bothered by this, but went on anyway. Few cats ever traveled or hunting in this direction, so there were probably not going to be any WindClan or RiverClan warriors. Regardless, he'd only stop when he was sure they were far away enough. He didn't want to cause trouble for his friends.

Marco once again jumped forward so that he could walk next to Blaze. "It'll be interesting meeting these Clan cats. I'd heard of them, but I've never met one. I have ancestors from a Clan called BloodClan, though. They were fierce and skilled warriors, but they disbanded after their leader was killed."

"You've told us that before," Blaze meowed, in a good-natured way. "But weren't the BloodClan cats – evil?"

"Never heard that one," sniffed Marco. "But if they were, it doesn't matter."

Blaze meowed with laughter and the group continued their trek into the woods. But just as with ThunderClan, the further they went in that direction, the stranger they began to feel. The sky began to grow darker, and the wind blew colder. Every step took them further into a twisting world of chaos, and none of them knew it. Yes, they knew deep down that something was wrong – but what was it? It seemed that all the light in this particular area had been stifled. For a moment, Blaze doubted going any further. However, he'd come so far, and wasn't about to give up.

But though they may have detected the sense that something was wrong, they were unaware of the shadows that lurked in the trees, watching their every move. There was some evil presence that wanted to split ThunderClan apart, and would do anything to stop Blaze from finding them.

--

Lightningstar looked at her suffering Clanmates. This was never what she had wanted for anyone. Was she a bad leader? Things had only started going down hill after Kestrelstar had died. She turned her attention to the cats who were trying to get Dawnpaw out of the tangles. They hadn't heard a thing from her, though they kept calling and calling. Someone was yowling about Silvercloud having been caught in a fox trap, sparking a frantic reaction from the other cats. What's worse was she hadn't seen her deputy, Oakpelt, or the medicine cat, Skyflight in too long. Without them, she felt incomplete. Skyflight was a very dear friend, and Oakpelt... Oakpelt had been the father of her first litter.

There weren't any kits in the Clan. They'd all been stolen by the sinister cats of RiverClan and WindClan. Echoheart had hinted that she was carrying kits. She'd also hinted that Barleywhisker was the father. It was surprising, really. No one had expected her to ever get over Redpaw – Redstripe's death. Even worse, the apprentices of the Clan weren't doing very well. Lightningstar had witnessed Sunleaf's constant abusive behavior towards her kits, especially Robinpaw. Sunleaf hadn't been the same since the stormy night when Nettlepaw was exiled.

Nettlepaw... He'd probably died. And it served him right, as well, for killing all those cats. What's worse is that he'd tried to pin it on Redpaw, who had been Lightningstar's own apprentice. Lightningstar's thoughts were interrupted by another terrible yowl. As far as she could make it out, Thrushfeather had been killed by a poisonous snake. They hadn't been there for long at all, and yet three of her finest warriors and a possibly a young apprentice had been lost. It seemed as though they were cursed.

Maybe Skyflight had been right. Maybe there was something wrong with ThunderClan's new territory. Something terribly wrong.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

**Chapter Fifteen**

Skyflight closed his eyes, bracing himself for the shadow cat's blow. Pain struck his throat, and he could feel blood soaking his fur. Choking and in pain, he squirmed. Opening his eyes, he could see the blurred images of the cats standing around him. Black blood was dripping from his throat, and though he was still alive, he could feel himself growing weaker. He tried to stand, but fell onto his side pathetically, gasping for breath. He couldn't let himself die. His Clan would be without a medicine cat. They'd never survive.

Darkness began to fog his vision, and he found he couldn't breathe anymore. He was truly dying. He couldn't believe it, but he was. He shuddered and shut his pale green eyes. Moments later, he found himself standing in the new ThunderClan camp, feeling fine and normal. Astonished, he examined himself, and found that he was solid – or at least, he seemed to be. Lightningstar turned to acknowledge him. How was he alive? How had he even made his way to the camp? He hadn't been dreaming, he knew that for sure. Skyflight wondered if perhaps the silhouette cats had only wanted to scare him, and not truly kill him.

He could feel the crusty dried blood on his throat. It began to flake off and fall onto the ground, giving off the stench of death. Skyflight wearily tested the ground before taking a step forward, hoping that none of this was fake. What if he really was dead? What if he was only appearing as an apparition to Lightningstar...

"Lightningstar?" he rasped. "Please tell me that I'm alive."

The leader tilted her head. "Of course you're alive, Skyflight. But where have you been? Good warriors are dying, and you've not been around to try to help them."

"I'm so sorry – it's just – something strange happened to me when I was out gathering herbs." He knew that strange was an understatement, but he doubted Lightningstar would believe him if he explained what he had just gone through. "I'll tell you about it later. Right now, I'm going to see what I can do to help... Oh, no..." Skyflight remembered that he hadn't actually brought back any herbs.

"Is something wrong, Skyflight?" Lightningstar asked. "You look a little weak in the legs."

Skyflight looked down at his paws. "I – er – didn't find any herbs out in the forest. Could you send – er – some other cat to go fetch them?" He was truly scared to go back in the haunted forest. While he knew it was risky to send someone else out to get herbs for him, he didn't want to have to do it again. What he'd seen was enough to keep him up for nights.

He saw the leader let out a bothered sigh. She was under a lot of pressure, and he knew he wasn't helping anything. "Alright," she growled. "I'll send Duskpool out with Leopardpaw and Robinpaw. Maybe they can bring back some prey while they're out."

"Tell them to be careful!" exclaimed Skyflight. "It's really dangerous out there, trust me."

Lightningstar didn't respond. She had an expression of horror on her face. "S-Skyflight," she stammered. "What's happened to you? What's happened to you!"

Skyflight didn't know what was going on. He looked down at his paws again and noticed that they were jet black. Panicking, he rushed towards the nearest water source. He stared at his reflection, and his stomach began to churn. He was jet black, like a shadow. His eyes were glowing as red as blood. Horrified, he stepped back, choking on the bile that was rising in his throat. "This can't be happening – this just can't be happening. No!" he screeched. His meow came out dark and distorted.

"I warned you..." A hiss echoed through the air.

Skyflight shrieked in terror. This was his worst nightmare come true. He rushed into the makeshift medicine cat den and laid down, panting. Moments later, Lightningstar peered in. Her expression was that of confusion.

"Are you alright, Skyflight? Why did you run off like that?" the black-and-white leader asked softly. "I only asked you what you were so afraid of and you ran like a dog was chasing you."

Now Skyflight was the one confused. He looked down at his paw and noticed that it was its usual gray color. He flicked his darker gray ears and looked up at his leader. "Lightningstar... I don't know what to say to you... I need to sleep. But I can't. They'll come to me in my dreams." He squeezed his eyes shut and his ears flattened. "I don't know what to do."

Lightningstar gave him a look of understanding. "I'll go send them for herbs now. You can rest, but when they get back, you'll need to be ready to help the injured cats." She sighed and looked out from the den at the camp. "I don't know what's troubling you, but if you need to talk about it with me, feel free to."

"Thanks," murmured Skyflight. Lightningstar leaped out of the den, leaving him alone there in the dark. As much as he didn't want to sleep, his eyelids were heavy and drooping. He yawned and put a paw over his muzzle. If he'd just been hallucinating the entire time, it was probably due to exhaustion. _Just a little sleep can't hurt me. They're only dreams, after all... I hope._

Before he knew it, he was asleep. He found himself in a meadow, tall grass rising all around him. Flowers were growing around, blowing back and forth in the breeze. It would have seemed cheery, if not for the ominous clouds hovering overhead. With one sniff, he could tell that there were other cats nearby, possibly lurking in the grass. All of a sudden, a large, muscular ginger cat darted in front of him, bright green eyes blazing. Skyflight backed up and observed. It was the exact same cat from his dreams many seasons ago. The majestic-seeming one who brought death with him. Sure enough, with every step blood welled up beneath the orange tabby's paws.

Not wanting to stick around any longer, Skyflight charged off in the opposite direction. He didn't get far before stumbling upon a clearing, filled with what appeared to be a Clan of cats. In the center of them all was a very light silver tabby tom. Just looking at this cat gave Skyflight a feeling of upset. In fact, all of these cats gave off a very chilling feel. Were they more silhouette cats in disguise? Needless to say, he didn't want to stick around and find out. In fact, he wished he wasn't dreaming at all. He'd rather dreamless sleep than nightmares.

The scenery changed, and he was sitting next to a pool in the dark of the forest. Looking in, he once again saw himself as a silhouette cat. Shuddering, he turned away. That wasn't what he wanted to be, but deep down inside he knew he was somehow connected to them. Feeling sick, he attempted to jolt himself out of his dream. He opened his eyes sleepily to the sound of murmuring voices.

"Skyflight, I need you," Lightningstar's soft meow roused him from his sleep.

He opened his pale green eyes, blinking out crust. "Lightningstar," he murmured, "what is it?"

"I've noticed you've not been doing well, recently," the black-and-white leader meowed. "I'm assigning you an apprentice to help you out with medicine cat duties, is that alright? It's Leopardpaw, in case you were wondering."

An apprentice... Skyflight had wanted one for quite sometime. But without any way of communicating with StarClan, how was his apprentice going to learn about the warrior ancestors? Would Leopardpaw even be considered a true medicine cat apprentice without visiting the Moonpool? These were issues he'd have to address later. "Sure, Lightningstar. Did they get back from the forest alright?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, they're alright. They didn't run into anything there, thank StarClan. I do have bad news, though. Thrushfeather and Silvercloud were both killed, and..." She was interrupted by a shrieking meow.

"We've rescued Dawnpaw, but she's hurt terribly – and Oakpelt, he's come back into camp severely wounded!" It was Nettlefang, frantically rushing into the temporary medicine cat den. "Here, Thistlestripe's carrying her."

Skyflight looked to see Thistlestripe carrying a bloody and limp figure. Dawnpaw's pelt had been torn and scratched by the huge thorns down in the dip. She softly mewed as she was set down in front of him. She examined her wounds and narrowed his eyes. "Quick, where did they set the herbs down? I need them, and quick." His voice was stern and serious.

Moments later, Leopardpaw came rushing in with a bundle of herbs in his mouth. The spotted apprentice set them down by his new mentor and watched as Skyflight used them to treat Dawnpaw's severe wounds.

"Those thorns were as sharp as a badger's claw," Brindlefur was meowing shakily. "Please, tell me she'll be alright, Skyflight."

"We can only hope," he replied as he applied the last few herbs to Dawnpaw's body. "They're deeper than any thorn scratches I've ever seen."

He leaned in for a closer look and gasped. Dawnpaw had begun oozing the same black-colored, foul-smelling blood that he had when he was wounded by the ghostly cat, Ashes, in the forest. He narrowed his eyes and wondered if the others could see and smell it as well. There was no reaction from any of them. It was clear that they weren't observing what he was.

_What's wrong with me? _Skyflight thought._ Is this because I'm a medicine cat?_

Leopardpaw looked down at Dawnpaw, worried. "Is my sister going to be alright?" he asked. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

Skyflight shook his head. "I can't think of anything at the moment. If we let her rest I'm sure she'll be fine. I've given her some poppy seeds to help her sleep." He hoped the apprentice wouldn't dream disturbing dreams as he had. "Leopardpaw, you can arrange the herbs in the den. I need to go and see if everyone else is alright."

He padded off towards the camp, leaving his new apprentice alone in the den with Dawnpaw. The elders – Stoneclaw, Foxcatcher, and Spottedflower – were getting ready to bury the cats who had died. Skyflight's chest tightened when he noticed that one of them was his mother, Thrushfeather. Lightningstar had mentioned this in passing, but it hadn't sunk in until then. His ears flattened and he turned away. He grew alert when he noticed Oakpelt laying on the ground, heaving. Warriors were gathered around him, meowing frantically.

Skyflight rushed towards them and took a look at Oakpelt. The Clan deputy was severely wounded, far beyond treatment. It pained him when he realized there was nothing he could do. Lightningstar was standing over Oakpelt with a look of pain and horror in her eyes. It was clear she was distraught. Skyflight could hear her desperate meows to the deputy. "I love you," she whispered to him softly.

The medicine cat tilted his head. He hadn't been sure of who had fathered Lightningstar's kits, but he now knew. He watched as the deputy gave one last breath before his eyes closed forever. Skyflight felt deep sympathy for Lightningstar. Knowing that there was nothing more he could do, he turned around and headed off in the direction of the fresh kill pile. For a territory so gloomy, there was surprising amount of prey around.

Redfrost padded up to him, muscles rippling under his auburn pelt. He nodded to acknowledge Skyflight's presence, and took a piece of prey from the pile. It was almost as if the warrior hadn't a care in the world. All around cats were dying, but Redfrost either didn't notice, or he didn't care. Apathy was slowly washing over all of them.

"How are things going today, Skyflight?" asked Redfrost, his voice somewhat monotonous.

Skyflight eyed him and picked out a piece of prey. "Oh, I don't know. Three warriors have died, as did our deputy. And Dawnpaw might not make it through the night." His meow was laced with sarcasm. "I guess things are going just fine."

"Why are you so bitter?" Redfrost meowed. "At least we have a new territory, which I found."

"It's evil!" hissed Skyflight. "There are evil cats that look like shadows living in the woods, there's a dead cat named Ashes who nearly ripped my side open, there's sinister dark smoke rising from the ground every time someone dies, and I'm turning into a monster!"

Redfrost blinked, looking at the pale gray medicine cat as though he were crazy. "Um, that's very interesting, Skyflight," he murmured. "Have you told Lightningstar about any of this?"

"Well, not exactly, but I definitely will once I figure out how." Skyflight's fur ruffled and he took a big bite out of the bird he had picked out.

"Madder than a fox in a fit," Redfrost mumbled under his breath. "Well, I'll be seeing you around camp." His meow was far louder this time. "Good luck telling Lightningstar about – all that."

Skyflight was growing furious. He wasn't deaf. He had heard what the tabby warrior had said about him. He was most certainly not madder than a fox in a fit! Granted, his stories seemed a bit far fetched, but it was all true. Besides, cats should listen to what medicine cats have to say whether or not it seems ridiculous. After all, most of the things medicine cats dreamed of were ridiculous, or at least extremely cryptic and bizarre.

"I am not madder than a fox in a fit!" he exclaimed, but Redfrost had already gone. Skyflight finished the rest of his prey in a huff. He knew there were far worse things to be upset about, but he was truly worried that he _was _going insane. After all, if these dreams and visions he were having were typical medicine cat dreams, they'd have to be sent from StarClan. But they weren't. StarClan couldn't follow them into the darkness of the beyond territories.

Skyflight heaved a heavy sigh. He looked to the tangled, depressing woods and began walking. He needed answers, and answers he was determined to get. Danger was no longer a factor. He'd just have to stop being cowardly. He took in a deep breath and prepared to once again face the darkened forest. He crawled beneath ferns, in the direction they had first come from. The sky was obscured, he couldn't figure the time of day. He assumed it was twilight, and with nightfall answers would come. He could feel it.

Something was calling to him from the black depths of the woodland. He could feel a fire burning deep down inside his chest. He walked along, paws leaving prints in the slightly moist ground. Sickly yellow light began to glow around his legs, radiating from strange-looking mushrooms. They lit his way through the forest, seeming to turn off the moment he passed by them. The path before him was dimly lit, while the path behind him was as dark as the middle of a starless night. And lights glowed, hovering above ground in the distance.

_I'm supposed to follow this, _he decided. _This will lead me to answers._

Skyflight lifted his head and walked along, feeling a sense of destiny. For the longest time he walked through the damp undergrowth. He was growing tired, and feeling lost, but he couldn't convince himself to give up and go home. The lights were still calling to him. He could see them, glowing on and off in the distance. Like fireflies they hovered around, beckoning the gray medicine cat to them. Everything was pointing in their direction. The path lit by the glowing fungus, the branches on the trees... even the wind was blowing their way.

He drew closer and closer to the mysterious lights. He could feel something stir inside of him. He looked down at his paws – they were jet black, like the dark that surrounded him. Any other cat would have thought it was just mud, but he knew. He knew that he had once again transformed into one of the silhouette cats. There was just no doubting it.

Now Skyflight was only a fox-length or so away from the floating lights. They glowed and glimmered, dancing around the darkness. They gave off a soft, pale glow that enchanted Skyflight. He looked up at them, mesmerized.

"I'm here," he meowed quietly.

He felt the wind rush through his fur. There was something mystical about this place. The glowing mushrooms formed a circle around where the lights floated. Skyflight stepped into it and closed his eyes. He felt winds coming from the earth. The world was spinning around him. He took it all in, feeling like he'd never felt before. Then it all paused. He opened his eyes and found himself in a completely different part of the forest. Or so it seemed. The lights had gone, and he was alone in the forest. Everything felt and even looked lighter.

_That can't be all. They want me to come back. I'll come back, I promise. _Skyflight didn't know who he was promising, or what. If they weren't going to give him answers at the moment, he'd just have to try again.

He looked around. Nothing seemed familiar. "I'm lost again!" he cried. He began to walk again, forward. The scent of other cats reached his nostrils. Ears flat, he crouched against the ground and began to crawl towards them. There were voices, distant and barely audible. He ducked beneath a fern and waited. They were coming in his direction. Moments passed and that's when he saw them. They passed by, a group of cats led by a massive ginger tabby.

Skyflight jumped out in front of them, eyes wide and breath caught in his throat. "Stop!" he exclaimed. "ThunderClan territory, don't pass." To his relief, he didn't have the horrifying hiss of a silhouette cat. He was completely normal again.

The massive ginger tabby approached him, bright green eyes glinting. "ThunderClan?" he asked. "Just what I was looking for. Take us to your camp."

With wide eyes, Skyflight recognized the cat as the one from his dreams. Who was this cat, and who were the others that came with him? He swallowed and nodded, flicking his tail in the direction he assumed was the camp. They followed, talking of various things along the way. Skyflight had felt a twinge of familiarity and nostalgia when he'd looked into the eyes of the ginger tabby. All of a sudden, he paused, turning around to face the cat.

"Who are you?" Skyflight asked, sounding and looking as sincere as possible. He stood his ground, looking the ginger tabby in the eyes and waiting for a reply.

"I am Blaze."

_The fire that will save the Clan!_

_

* * *

**A/N: **And this is where I will leave off until the sequel: Run or Die. Thank you for reading and thank you all for the kind (and constructive) reviews!  
_


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